Who is Eli?
by Naitouk
Summary: Owen finds one of Abby's puzzles and notices the name "Eli" etched on it. Abby decides the time is right to reveal more of her mysterious past, but they have more than just her tragic past to worry about. Set directly following the Let Me In film.
1. Chapter One: Revelations

_Who is Eli?_ is a story that is set directly following the newly released _Let Me In_ film. Owen casually finds one of Abby's puzzles and notices the name "Eli" etched upon it. Abby decides the time is right to reveal more of her mysterious past.

**NOTE:**

I have seen both _Let the Right One In_ and _Let Me In_ and have also read the novel. I feel this story is one of the most beautiful tales I've ever come to know. This work of fan fiction is an attempt take what, in my humble opinion, are the best elements from both movies and the novel and bring them together while at the same time revealing my version of what happens when the train stops. I hope you enjoy the first installment of the story. Please leave comments on what you liked and didn't like!

-Naitouk, among the ranks of "**We The Infected**."

Chapter One: Revelations

Owen sat staring out of the window as the landscape raced along side of the train in a blur of colors. Throughout his life, Owen hated the day. The daytime was when he went to school, it was when he was bullied, and it was when he had to do things he didn't like to do! Although he was surrounded by people during the day, he never felt more alone. After having left all of that behind, he still hated the day, but for a much different reason.

He was lonely, especially right now.

"Excuse me, can I see your ticket please?" asked the ticket checker who walked up.

Owen fished into the back pouch of his bag and offered his ticket to the clerk for validation. As he handed the ticket back to Owen, the man took notice of the large trunk that sat in front of the boy.

"This trunk yours, son?"

"Yeah," responded Owen as he chewed on a piece of Now and Later candy. With a polite nod, the ticket checker stepped back into the aisle and continued to move through the train. Owen was alone again.

He sighed heavily as he reached into his bag to remove the Rubik cube he managed to hastily grab last night. All of the sides were solid, just as he and Abby had left it before things got so crazy. Life was crazy. There he sat looking at the cube in amazement, turning it from side to side. With a little work, he knew he could even do it again if he wanted. The Rubik cube was but one example of how the impossible now seemed possible since Abby came into his life.

He heard a soft tapping and looked down at the trunk. Owen grinned. Abby had tapped something only they were likely to understand. She had tapped the word "_K-I-S-S_." Owen no longer felt alone. He knew that a wooden trunk and the blazing sun outside the window was all that kept him from being besides her. He liked her. A lot. Owen had always thought girls were gross, but with Abby, he felt differently.

Reaching down discretely, he tapped out the word "_K-I-S-S_" back to her. Night could not come soon enough.

* * *

The sun began to creep down in the sky. It was almost safe for Abby to come out from her hiding place. Owen kept wondering where they were going, and more importantly, how they would survive. He knew that Abby had managed for a very long time, and by now, was good at what she did. He could not help but wonder if she would take care of him.

Of course she will, he reassured himself. After all, she had just saved his life. The boys had always picked on him, but this last time was different. They were out for blood. Without Abby, he would now be dead. He tried to force himself not to remember, but the tightness in his lungs was inescapable. He was a heartbeat away from death, one second away from filling his lungs with water. Of all the people in the world, it was Abby who saved him.

Owen did not think of himself as a very independent boy. He always had his mother to watch over him, to make sure he ate, to make sure he did his homework, and to scold him when he made bad decisions. Now, he only had Abby.

He began to think about all of the things he had taken for granted in his life, mostly school. What would he do about school? How would he learn? After all, he had quite a passion for the sciences, and loved to learn things. What would he be when he grows up if he doesn't go to school? These were questions that suddenly became very important to him, but questions that would nevertheless have to wait. More urgently, he began to wonder what he would do when the train stopped.

When he and Abby had arrived at the train station early that morning, he had randomly picked a town that seemed far away. Abby had already taken refuge in the large trunk which he locked. He wanted to be sure no one would open it when he was not guarding it, though that was rare. Owen had approached the ticket counter, summoning every ounce of courage he had, smiled as sweetly as he could to the agent, and bought his one way ticket. Owen thought about their conversation as he traced his fingers along the ornate lock attached to the large trunk:

"You're going on quite an adventure, huh? Almost an entire day on the train!" the nice lady had asked him as she collected his money.

"Yep!" he responded. "Going to see my dad. He's picking us up at the train station and bringing lots of candy!"

"Us? Is someone with you?" asked the lady as she counted out the change to Owen.

Damn! He had made a mistake, and he knew it. Owen had been too busy staring at the money the lady had put down on the counter. He wasn't used to having so much. "My sister is coming too. Mom already bought her ticket."

"Oh? Well you two have fun! Don't talk to no strangers or nothing."

Owen offered a small smile, and with a quick "Bye," left the office to wait for the boarding call.

* * *

The sun had just finished its descent. Good. Soon, Owen would no longer be alone. Although he was exhausted, he knew that he and Abby would have to find a place to stay for the night. How would they do that? He was just a kid, and even if Abby wasn't really just a kid, she looked like one. As he realized that he didn't know anything about renting apartments or hotels, fear and panic began to set in until he heard a gentle tapping from the trunk.

_I.S.I.T.S.A.F.E_

Reaching into his pocket, he fished out a long, metallic key. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was coming, Owen moved the key discretely into the lock and turned. The inner mechanisms of the lock echoed throughout the quiet compartment culminating in a CLICK. Owen cursed inwardly for making so much noise as he reached down and quickly raised the lid to the trunk. Abby quickly rose from within the trunk, stepped over the side, and sat down beside Owen just in time to avoid a young woman who was passing by. Closing the lid to the trunk, Owen wondered how Abby often managed to move so precisely without making a sound.

"What are we going to do, Abby?" Owen whispered.

"We have to find a place to stay, and get you something to eat." Abby looked towards Owen tenderly. Raising her hand slowly to his face, she brushed her fingertips lightly against his cheek.

"What about you? Are you hungry?"

Smiling softly, Abby responded, "I had plenty at the pool."

Owen understood, and gave a sigh of relief. He had just left everything he ever knew, and with the exception of Abby, he was alone. He could not deal with seeing Abby feed tonight.

Abby slowly ran her fingertips down Owen's cheek, down his arm onto his hand where she softly squeezed his hand. He was freezing. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." responded Owen as he lowered his eyes.

"Owen, thank you."

"For what?"

Abby simply smiled at Owen as she leaned in against him and kissed his cheek softly. Owen simply looked at her. He was getting used to it. Used to trusting Abby completely, even if he didn't yet understand her reasons.

* * *

The sound of the arrival announcement brought Owen out of the daze he had slipped into. It was a reality: he and Abby had arrived in a new town. What were they going to do? Questions were plentiful in his young mind, but for each that popped up, the answer was always the same: trust Abby.

The arrival of the train was heralded by the symphony of the groans of weary travelers as the doors to the passenger cabin slid open. Most of the passengers were quick to grab their affairs and rush to the doors to be the first off. Abby sat still for a moment, her eyes, overflowing with concern, remained fixed on Owen.

"Owen? Are you okay?"

Looking away from the now open doors, Owen managed to stammer out "Yeah."

"Its all going to be okay. I promise."

"I know," he nodded to her.

"We need to get off the train now. Look, there are some benches right outside. Lets go sit down there for a minute," Abby said as she pointed to a series of small benches on the arrival platform. She stood, picked up the backpack from the seat beside Owen and slung it up over her shoulder. With a reassuring smile and a quick wink, Abby headed towards the exit door. Owen quickly stood and followed Abby, dragging the large trunk behind him. Truth be told, it wasn't terribly heavy, and he had no problems dragging it.

They were the last off the train.

Owen kept his head down, afraid that by now, he was likely reported as a missing kid or a runaway. He didn't want to risk the possibility of someone recognizing him. Abby was already scouting the area. She took his hand into hers and squeezed it tenderly.

"Owen, do you trust me?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Stay here and wait for me, okay? I've got an idea."

"But I wanna go with you," protested Owen, his pleading eyes overflowing with fear and uncertainty were fixed upon Abby.

"It won't take long. Promise. Please?"

Owen reluctantly agreed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small candy. A grape flavored one, his favorite! He quickly unwrapped the candy and slipped it into his mouth as he watched Abby walk away from him. The platform was much smaller here than it was back in Los Alamos, it was also much darker. Owen found himself pulling his coat tighter around his body to shield himself from the bitter cold. Looking around, he noticed there were several more benches around the area, each having elaborate advertisement for anything from fine dining to visiting a local museum. He wished he could take Abby out somewhere during the day, even if it were just a boring museum.

The gray brick building was surprisingly large for such a small platform. Owen could see inside of it by looking through the series of large crystal-clear windows that spanned the length of the building. Looking inside, Owen could not see many people other than a few travelers being reunited with their families, or people sleeping as they awaited their departure.

Owen began to push the fear of the unknown from his mind. He was a man now and had to start acting like it. He needed to be brave not only for himself, but for his new girlfriend. Pulling his coat tightly around him again as he shivered against the bitter cold, he pondered how lucky Abby was to not feel the cold. As he looked up, he could see Abby talking to an older man who was sitting on the ground near the side of the building, probably to stay out of sight of those inside. The man looked like a drunk or perhaps a beggar who had taken up refuge for the night at the train station. Moving closer, Owen began to hear some of the conversation.

"Two hundred dollars, plus whatever is left after you pay for the room," Abby said to the man. His head slumped back against the cold, gray brick wall as he considered her offer.

"Where ya get that kind of money? You screwing with me, little girl?"

The man's eyes sparkled like diamonds as Abby withdrew a large, folded stack of bills from her pocket which the man instinctively reached for. Abby took a small step back.

"Do we have a deal then?" asked Abby as she waved the bills around in front of the man.

"Yeah," stuttered the man as he struggled to his feet, still watching her.

* * *

Jonathan was once a proud man with dreams and aspirations that would have taken him to the moon. Literally. How did he end up here, sitting outside of a train station drunk again? Begging had been slow today, and with the exception of three dollars in change, he had "earned" nothing. Nothing until this little girl had come along, that is. Who was she? Where were her parents?

"Want to make a little money? Me and my friend need a hotel room and we can't buy it ourselves," the girl asked him.

He glanced up from his drunken stupor to look at her. She was a pretty little thing, he thought, but she was more than likely playing a joke on him. Damn kids, he thought to himself, maybe her parents will be along soon to stop her from talking to me. Don't parents teach their kids not to talk to strangers anymore? Screw it. This may be my only chance to eat tomorrow. He responded, "How much?"

"Two hundred dollars. Probably a little more."

"Whatcha want me to do again?"

The little girl sighed as if annoyed. Taking a small step back from him, she rested her hands inside the pockets of her sweater. Jonathan studied her for a moment as his vision came into better focus. The girl was wearing only a thin pink and blue turtleneck sweater and nothing to keep her ears warm. Wait. She's wearing a skirt? Isn't she freezing? No shoes? What the hell? Something isn't right here.

"So ya want me to go with ya to some motel," the little girl nodded her head as he spoke, "and rent ya a room for ya and a friend? How much ya gonna pay me?" he asked. By this point, he could see another small child, a boy who seemed to be dressed appropriately for the weather, beginning to walk in their direction.

"Two hundred dollars, plus whatever is left after you pay for the room." the girl responded, nodding her head.

This must be a joke, Jonathan thought to himself as he snorted, "Where ya get that kind of money? You screwing with me, little girl?"

His luck had been non-existent lately, he was not in the mood for jokes. His anger began to grow. The little girl withdrew her hands from the pockets of her sweater. He studied her briefly, until he saw the folded stack of bills in her hand. She must have a few grand there, Jonathan thought to himself, as he instinctively reached for the bills.

"Do we have a deal then?" asked the girl as she took a small step back into the light of one of the station lamps. For the first time, Jonathan could see her face clearly. He looked into her eyes and saw something, something that could not be put into words. It took every fiber of his self control not to reach out to her. It was in that moment that Jonathan fully noticed the haunting beauty of the child. To him, she appeared to be the embodiment of perfection, like one of those porcelain dolls his grandmother used to keep.

Struggling to his feet, Jonathan could not tear his gaze away from the girl's face. He managed to stammer out, "Yeah," his eyes still locked on the face of the child.

* * *

"Who is that Abby?" asked Owen as he walked up beside Abby.

Turning to Owen, Abby reached down and slipped her hand into his, lacing their fingers together. Her other hand slipped discretely back into the pocket of her sweater. She offered Owen a reassuring smile before turning her attention back to the man standing before them.

"He's going to help us."

"Oh." Owen responded as he looked at the strange man for a moment, he could smell the alcohol emanating from him. The man's smell reminded Owen of the high school kids who would hang out with Tommy back home in their downstairs hideout. The man steadied himself against the wall for just a moment as he continued to look at Abby. Owen felt a rush of jealousy surge through his body as he noticed the man staring at her. He decided not to say anything. Abby knew what she was doing, and he trusted her.

The man took a small step towards the two children and nodded his head as he shifted his eyes from Abby to Owen. "There's a motel right down the street. That good enough for you?"

"Yes. Take us there." Abby responded as she gave Owen's hand a reassuring squeeze.

* * *

If Jonathan would have had a home, he would have wished to be back in it. He had problems. Lots of them. He was a smart man, on track to achieve his aspirations of becoming a physicist. Yes, it all seemed to come together for Jonathan. All of the key elements for success were in place: the proper family, the proper cohorts, intelligence, and motivation. It was all there. Life was good until the incident. One evening of mistakes caused by large quantities of alcohol had brought his carefully constructed world to its knees, and now he suffered for it.

_What the hell am I doing? Who are these kids? Why are they all alone?_

Jonathan had been surviving by doing small odd jobs for people in the area. When he couldn't find anyone that needed his workman skills, he'd go to a public place and beg. Business was good for the most part, and he often found himself making a decent amount of money each day. All except today, until he had met the two children. Although he knew that something was seriously not right with his current situation, but the thought of two-hundred dollars blew away most of his apprehensions.

_I'll take them to the hotel, get my money, and go find a place to stay._

_Are you an idiot John? If anyone sees you with these two kids going into a sleazy motel._

_But they look young enough to be my kids._

Jonathan was relatively new in town. He was a loner who preferred to live a nomadic "off the grid" life due to his past. He was a man who believed that science held the answers to the great mysteries of the universe. To him, there was no higher power to answer to. You were crazy if you got down on your knees and prayed. After all, you were ultimately talking only to yourself. Life was a mixture of extremely complex, multifaceted interactions. It was all very logical for him until you threw alcohol into the mix.

He hated kids. They were needy, menacing, ignorant, and annoying little monsters as far as he was concerned. What was he doing now entering into their service? These questions swam around in his mind as he sobered up, and the more he thought about it, the more it aggravated him.

_Two hundred dollars. Gotta keep my eye on the prize._

The trio had exited the train station and began walking through the large, gravel parking lot towards the main road. Thankfully, the train station was not far away from a motel, and there were not many cars on the road to see him with the kids. Jonathan could collect his pay for the evening and go find himself a place to sleep until the morning when he would begin another long day of begging. Soon, maybe he could afford to get the hell out of the United States and move to Canada where he could begin a new life. His mind relished the thought of a new beginning, and he constantly was searching for the big, red "RESET" button that life had been keeping from him. A smile had formed on his face, that is, until he was assaulted by hundreds of tiny objects. Twice.

* * *

"Abby! Look! It's snowing! Pshhhhhhh," Owen exclaimed as he kicked at the loose gravel sending a shower of tiny loose rocks in front of them as they walked.

Giggling profusely, Abby also kicked at the gravel and created her own cloud of tiny rocks. "Mine's bigger! Mine's a blizzard!"

"Nu uh!" Owen protested playfully.

Jonathan sighed and angrily snapped his head around to face the kids after having been assaulted by two showers of gravel. "Watch it," he scowled.

The two of them attempted to hide their playful laughter as they muttered "Sorry" almost in unison. Abby winked at Owen.

It wouldn't be too long now. Not too far ahead of the trio, one could see a large florescent sign that read "THE RAINBOW MOTEL." Jonathan stopped a moment and pointed to the sign and said, "That's the place. Its a real shit hole, but that's what you were going for, eh?" a smirk forming on his face as he glanced back at the children who were following him closely, but not too close.

Abby, who was still calming down from her giggle fit, managed to nod her head and say, "Lets keep going."

Owen, who was also calming down from the nuclear gravel attack launched on the man, was no longer trying to prevent himself from laughing. He was beginning to get tired, but the sheer excitement of being with Abby in this new place allowed him to temporarily ignore his fatigue. He couldn't help himself from stealing little glances at her when he thought she wasn't looking. She looked extra special tonight, almost as if her skin was glowing dimly in the pale moonlight.

Maybe I'll kiss her.

A big grin had formed on his face as his thoughts began to wander. He began to walk a bit more confidently until he noticed Abby was looking at him. Quickly turning his eyes away from her, he gazed at the large drunk he was dragging. His cheeks quickly flushed with embarrassment. Luckily for Owen, they were very close to the motel now.

The motel was not very large and was laid out like a giant square with the rooms facing an interior parking lot. The parking lot, if you could call it that, was in a horrible state of disarray with several giant potholes near the entrance and scattered throughout. A tall pole with a large sign attached to the top sat in the center of the parking lot. The florescent sign provided some additional lighting to the dark area, but not much. A small office sat just outside of the entrance to the lot as if it were some sort of guard tower or checkpoint. There was a sign affixed to the wall of the building that read, "$45/NIGHT. AIR CONDITIONING. TELEVISION."

"Get us a room for five days," said Abby as she again reached into her pocket and fished out a stack of bills which she offered to Jonathan.

Snatching the bills into his hand, Jonathan looked over the children for just a moment before counting the bills. He seemed content with the amount Abby had given to him.

"Well?" asked Abby, her eyes locked on Jonathan. Owen swallowed hard as he too watched the man. He was nervous he would simply run off with their money.

With a smirk, Jonathan turned away from the kids and headed inside the office.

When he was gone, Owen breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Turning to Abby, he whispered, "You think he'll call the police?"

"I don't think so," responded Abby, a slight smile forming on her face.

"You aren't going to," his voice trailed off as he raised a finger to his mouth and ran it across his teeth, "are you?"

"No!"

"That's good." Owen secretly wished she would, while at the same time, he was somewhat relieved she wouldn't. He didn't trust the man not to call the police and report the two children as runaways, but he also was not too fond of Abby's "food restrictions." His stomach growled. He was quite hungry.

"You hungry?"

"Yeah. I'll just go find something tomorrow."

"You sure?" she asked, a look of concern taking over her expression. Abby had forgotten what human hunger felt like. To her, The Hunger was the worst part of existence. A voice that could not be ignored. She had to remind herself that it was much more bearable for Owen since he was … not like her.

Owen looked to Abby for a second, then looked away down towards the ground as he said, "Abby?"

"Yeah?"

"You look real pretty." He blushed.

Just as Abby was about to respond, the door to the motel office opened and their temporary adult "helper" stepped out with a triumphant grin on his face and holding a key in his hand. Walking over to the pair, he said, "Easy as pie, or cake. One of them."

"Thank you," Owen responded as genuinely as possible, happy to have a bed to lay in for the evening.

Abby lifted her hand up towards Jonathan as if expecting something to be placed in it. Jonathan smirked at the girl and chided, "Now what do we say?" Clearly not amused by his comment, Abby simply remained silent with her hand stretched towards the man, her expression becoming much less friendly. Muttering something under his breath, Jonathan handed the key to Abby.

"Thanks," Abby responded sarcastically as she took the key and looked at it for a moment. Turning to Owen, she motioned for him to follow her. Owen nodded and began to follow Abby into the parking lot of the motel dragging their large trunk behind him.

Jonathan stood there a moment watching the two children walk away hoping that no one had seen them arrive at the motel together. He was suddenly reminded of why he vowed to never have children.

* * *

"This is it," Abby said as she reached up to try the door handle, and as expected, it was locked.

"Owen listen. Always remember to lock the door, okay?"

"Okay."

"We can never forget."

Owen nodded and responded "Okay!" as he looked at the red door. It was tall and smelled strongly of fresh paint. Three brass numerals sat affixed near the top of the door right under the small peephole. To the right of the door, there was a large, glass window. The curtains within the hotel room had been left open, but it was difficult to see inside because of the dirt and grime that covered almost the entire surface of the glass. Disgusting! Abby inserted the key into the lock and unlocked the door.

"After you," she said smiling at Owen.

Owen opened the door and stepped inside the room dragging the large trunk behind him. It was bigger than he had expected and smelled distinctly of nicotine. A queen-sized bed sat in almost the center of the room covered by a thick gray comforter. To the left of the bed was a small writing table with two sheets of paper, a small pen, and a telephone on top of it. A small wooden stool that looked as if it would break if any weight was put on it was pushed in beneath the desk. Although Owen felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders now that they had found a place to stay, he began to realize more of the implications of his decision to follow Abby.

"You can come in," he said as he looked to Abby, a smile forming on his face.

Abby giggled for a moment as she said, "We live here together now. You don't have to invite me in here."

"Oh." Owen responded. There was still much to learn about his new girlfriend.

* * *

Abby followed him inside and promptly closed the door behind her, locking the large deadbolt. Reaching behind the curtains, she pulled down on a small drawstring which drew the dirty light yellow curtains together providing them with privacy. Tossing her bag beside the bed, Abby walked towards the back of the room where there was a large mirror situated just above the plastic counter top that housed a small sink. Placing her hands on the counter top, Abby gazed into the mirror.

Moving around was essential for her to survive, but this last move to Los Alamos had been nothing short of a disaster with the exception of meeting Owen. But that's how it usually went, minus the meeting Owen part. Abby's helper and "companion" was now gone as were most of her remaining possessions. Abby pondered this for a moment and decided that in losing all that she did, she gained something much more valuable. For the first time in a very, very long time, she had found a true friend. She had become very fond of Owen in such a short time, which confused her. Abby had learned long ago how to control her emotions extremely well. This was was a major component of her survival. Until she met Owen, the only emotions Abby experienced on a regular basis were were anger over the incompetence of her "companion," and despair at how unfair "life" was. She was as lonely as Owen, if not more so. Things were different now. It was in this short time with Owen that she rediscovered tenderness and compassion. Was what she was feeling love? Many people had tried to describe and teach her about love over the years, yet she was not sure of its true meaning. She was sure of only one thing about love, if she had it for anyone except her now departed family, it would be Owen.

One of the great mysteries that Abby struggled with was the fact that although she was over 200 years old, inside her mind, she was still a child of twelve. Sure, there were facts she was able to learn over her "lifetime;" however, with the exception of perhaps a refined vocabulary, she was not an old soul trapped in a child's body. She was a child trapped in the old body of a child. She had the same urges as a normal twelve year old with the exception of being more thirsty than hungry. Her candy was always red, and it was always liquid. She loved to play, and sadly, was not able to do so often until she met Owen because most of her "companions" had a much different definition of what it meant to "play."

"Ab-ee? Sommin' wrong?" asked Owen as he chewed on a piece of candy.

Realizing she had been staring into the mirror for several minutes now, Abby turned around to face Owen who was now seated nonchalantly on the corner of the bed looking at her. Abby could not help but giggle at Owen and how he sounded when he would talk and chew at the same time. "Nah! Just thinking."

* * *

Owen plopped down onto brown carpet beside the bed. He studied Abby for a moment who was laying on the bed in front of him on her stomach. He had never been so close to a girl before, and never had the opportunity to observe one. He liked to watch her, and so he did as she laid there on her stomach reading a book. Her legs flexed upwards at the knees and bobbed up and down as her toes wiggled randomly. Owen, who once thought girls were gross, found this kind of cute. Just like her smile, her laugh, and the way she idly played with her hair at times. The list could go on and on.

He sat there watching her for several minutes until Abby turned her head toward him and smiled. His cheeks flushed red with embarrassment as he realized he had been staring at her. He quickly turned his eyes away from Abby towards the small, red backpack that was sitting on the ground to his right. Reaching into the bag he had quickly packed the night before, he pulled out the Rubik cube and studied it for a moment as if expecting it to solve itself. The toy had always amazed him, but now, it held an even more special meaning. It was one of the first excuses he had to talk to Abby. Setting the cube down beside him, he reached into his bag again and withdrew an odd looking cube-shaped puzzle that belonged to Abby.

It must be so old, he thought to himself, probably one of Abby's favorites since made a point of taking it with them. Lifting it to the light to get a closer look, a quizzical expression formed on his face as he attempted to understand how it was intended to work. The puzzle was cube-shaped, each side having four rows of four blocks, each engraved with a small letter. Owen could tell that each individual block was once a bright, vibrant color, but now the colors were extremely dull and faded. On two adjacent sides, there were small wooden knobs that turned in both directions.

Was it some kind of old Rubik cube? He twisted the knobs that protruded from either side of the puzzle carefully to avoid breaking them. With each twist of the bottom knob, the blocks on the cube shifted to the left or right depending on the direction he turned. Each turn of the top knob shifted the blocks up or down. The puzzle responded sluggishly as if it had not been used in a long time or was beginning to break. Had Abby played with it when she was _younger?_ How do you play it?

He turned the puzzle around from several angles as he wondered what made the puzzle to special for her.

_… The Rubik cube is so much bett... What's this? …_

Owen peered down quizzically at the toy. As he completed a left turn on the bottom knob, the newly revealed blocks contained the word "ELI" spread across three cubes. The letters were obviously not part of the game itself as they looked completely different then the letters that were on the rest of the cube. He gently rubbed his fingertips along the letters, feeling the etchings.

What's this? Is it part of the game? It can't be. He thought as he examined the strange puzzle and the letters upon it. He began to wonder if the letters were a name, like when his mom would embroider his name on his clothes. Who is Eli? Was this who gave her the puzzle?

"Abby?"

"Mm?" responded Abby sweetly as she closed the book she had been reading, lifted herself up to lean back on her knees, and struck a dramatic pose. Owen could see that she was reading his copy of Romeo and Juliet. Turning her head slowly in his direction, she offered a playful smile as she slid off the side of the bed and plopped down onto the carpet beside him making almost no sound at all. How does she do that?

"That is one of my favorite puzzles. Its very, very old."

"Who is Eli?" he asked as he turned his eyes up from the puzzle to meet Abby, a genuine quizzical expression crossing his face.

Abby slowly lowered her eyes down towards the floor. She had been caught off guard by his question. It was not one she thought she'd have to answer, at least right now anyway. She knew it would take a very long time for her to reveal everything about her past to Owen and resolved herself that it would be a painful journey for them both. "Eli" was a good place to start.

"Owen, I...That's my name."


	2. Chapter Two: A Painful Past

_Who is Eli?_ is a story that is set directly following the newly released _Let Me In_ film. Owen casually finds one of Abby's puzzles and notices the name "Eli" etched upon it. Abby decides the time is right to reveal more of her mysterious past. Not only will Abby and Owen be forced to deal with Abby's tragic past, but the reality of their situation following their quick departure from Los Alamos is bearing down on them.

**NOTE:**

I have seen both _Let the Right One In_ and _Let Me In_ and have also read the novel. I feel this story is one of the most beautiful tales I've ever come to know. This work of fan fiction is an attempt take what, in my humble opinion, are the best elements from both movies and the novel and bring them together while at the same time revealing my version of what happens when the train stops. I hope you enjoy the first installment of the story. Please leave comments on what you liked and didn't like!

-Naitouk, among the ranks of "**We The Infected**."

Chapter 2: A Painful Past

"Owen, I...That's my name," Abby whispered, her eyes locked on the floor.

"What?" Owen exclaimed as he stood up from the ground and immediately moved away from Abby. He took a seat on the bed directly across from her, his mouth open in disbelief. Was everything he knew about his new girlfriend a lie? If he didn't know her name, did he even know her at all?

Abby looked up at Owen, her cheek wet from the tear that had escaped her eye. She reached out and took his hand in hers.

"What else did you lie to me about?" he asked as he ripped his hand from within her grasp, tears now began to stream from his eyes.

Abby sighed and again lowered her head. "Owen, listen. There is a lot about my past that I want you to know, but it's very painful for me to talk about."

"What's your real name? Is it Abby? Or Eli?"

"Its Abby."

"You just said Eli was your name! Lies! All Lies!" he stood up again and pointed his finger directly into her face.

"Please calm down. I didn't mean to not tell you the truth. You told me you trusted me. Trust me now! I didn't lie to you, and I want to tell you everything, but its going to take time! I'm over two hundred years old, Owen. Do you know how much has happened to me in that time?"

Owen slowly sat down on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands. It had just begun to all sink in for Owen, the reality of leaving everything behind, the reality that he and Abby were on their own. He couldn't just go home anymore, he was in too deep to give up. Still, he wondered what else she was lying about?

Abby stood and sat down beside Owen on the bed. Slipping her arm around his waist, she laid her head on his shoulder. "Owen, when I became, " she paused for a moment, "what I am, there were terrible things done to me," she trembled as she spoke.

"Is Eli your real name?" Owen asked as he raised his head from his hands. He wiped his nose and face against the sleeve of his shirt.

"Almost."

"What is it?"

"When I was born, my momma and poppa named me Elias."

Owen was shocked. His mouth open wide in a disbelieving gawk as he pulled away from Abby and turned so that he was directly facing her, one of his legs dangling over the edge of the bed. Abby frowned.

"But," he paused for just a moment as he stared at her in amazement, "that's a boy's name. Are you a boy?"

"No. Owen, I'm nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? You're either a boy or a girl."

"Its not that easy for me, Owen. There were terrible things done to me before I became like I am now. After I was turned into," her voice wavered slightly as she fought back a sob, "a vampire, I became nothing."

Owen stared at her in sheer amazement, his mouth still opened in a gawk. Was his girlfriend a boy? She dressed like a girl, she acted like a girl, and her name was girlish. He turned away from her, looking to the left and noticed his copy of Romeo and Juliet that she had been reading. He stared at it a moment as he softly spoke, "If your name is Elias, who is Eli?"

"Owen, I was twelve years old when this happened. I couldn't take care of myself, and I couldn't go home. I,"

"Why didn't you go home to your mom and dad?" Owen interrupted her.

"They thought I had died, and for over 200 years, I wished I had."

Owen remained quiet as he turned back to face her.

Abby sobbed as she lowered her head, "Owen, from that day, I needed blood to live. They wouldn't have accepted what I had become," she quickly looked up to stare directly into Owen's eyes, "I had to go away to protect them."

"From what?"

"From me. I couldn't control myself then. Even now its really hard to control myself when I get hungry."

Owen looked down to the gray sheets of the bed they were sitting on. He remembered his botched attempt to make a pact with Abby, how she had become something else at the sight of his blood. Shaking the images from his mind, he looked up into her face as he timidly, "So what did you do?"

"I walked. As far as I could until the sun started coming up. As sunrise got closer and closer I," she stuttered for a moment as if trying to understand the words she was speaking, "I somehow knew the sun would hurt me. I hid in caves, tombs, anywhere I could find. I didn't sleep much at first."

"Why'd you tell me your name is Abby?"

Abby managed a slight, wistful smile as if a fond memory had bubbled to the surface of her mind. She inched closer to Owen and reached out to gently caress his cheek. He did not resist as she gently pressed her lips against his. For a moment, Owen remembered how badly he had wanted to kiss her earlier that night, he remembered how beautiful she looked in the moonlight. All of these things came to his mind, but quickly vanished in an explosive flash.

_Owen found himself sliding downwards on a long train track. As he looked around, he saw a blur of colors and heard a mix of sounds. He began moving faster and faster until he could see darkness ahead of him. Anxiety grew quickly within his mind._

_ Got to stay away from there!_

_ It was too late. Before he could attempt anything, he was overtaken by the darkness and gradually slowed down until he came to a normal walking speed. He looked around and saw a lone stone dwelling in the countryside. Although it was dark, he had no trouble seeing every minute detail around him. He suddenly crouched down in the high grass to avoid being seen. Feeling a moistness on his chest, he looked down and discovered his clothes were covered in blood. His stomach rumbled loudly._

_ Shh! You'll be discovered!_

_ He moved swiftly through the grass until he felt he was close enough. Owen parted some of the grass aside and looked at what was beyond the greenery: he could see an old woman dressed in rags carrying a large wooden bucket. She quickly poured the content of the bucket onto the fire. The fire responded with a definite hiss as it was reduced to almost nothing. _

_ Almost time._

_ As Owen watched the woman move, he suddenly doubled over as his body was wracked with pain. His stomach rumbled fiercely. The woman quickly snapped her head in the direction of the sound and loudly called out, "Who's there?"_

_ Owen remained as quiet as possible as the woman walked in his direction. He didn't move, even as she reached down into the tall grass towards him: "Are you alright my child," she asked as she slowly reached her hand towards him: "I'm not going to hurt you."_

_ At the utterance of the woman's words, Owen's surroundings suddenly changed. He he found himself sitting at a small wooden table across from the old woman in a room lit only by dim candlelight. The woman looked over in his direction and smiled softly as she chewed on a bite of food. Owen's senses were assaulted with at least twenty distinct scents, and of those he smelled, he figured the woman was eating some type of beef._

_ The woman swallowed and gently pressed a small piece of cloth against her lips to clean bits of food from them. The woman gazed at him fondly as she spoke, "You and my little Madeline would have been the best of friends. I miss her dearly," Owen noticed the tear that had slipped from her eye, "Each new moon is a gift, child, pray you never forget it. Oh how I wish you could talk to me. A mere utterance from your lips would bring this old woman to joyous tears,"she smiled wistfully, "I know it is not of your choosing. Some affliction must have robbed you of your ability to speak."_

_ Owen could feel himself smiling, although he didn't understand why. He felt some remorse. After all, he knew he could speak, but for some reason, he felt the urge not to. As he smiled, his surroundings changed yet again. He found himself standing in a small room lit by an oil lamp that reminded him of a teapot. Directly across from him, Owen could see the old woman who appears to have aged considerably. Owen could see how pale the woman looked. She smelled of death. He suddenly feels a considerable amount of sadness beginning to overtake him as the woman takes slow steps towards him. With each step taken, Owen could clearly see the woman was suffering. He noticed the woman holding something, some type of pendant._

_ "Madeline was everything to me. I was so alone when she was taken from me. Although the sadness I feel at her loss will never leave me, I am thankful for those above who chose to send you to me." Owen was overtaken by several emotions as the old woman spoke: sadness, joy, and others he could not describe. He simply smiled as the woman continued to speak:_

_ "My time in this world grows shorter."_

_ No! Don't go!_

_ "To you, I give this. It belonged to my Madeline," the old woman said as she reached out towards Owen. He could see a small black pendant in her hand. She stepped closer as she spoke, "Let me put this on you." Owen felt himself smiling as the old woman attached the pendant around his neck. As she fastened it securely around Owen's neck, she stepped back and gazed at him and the pendant._

_ "Beautiful. I would expect nothing less from you, my beautiful child."_

_ Boys aren't beautiful!_

_ "I do so wish you could speak. I so dearly wish to know your name, child" the woman lowered her head as she spoke, "forgive me, but on many occasions, you have spoken to me in my dreams. I asked your name, and you said it was Abby. Is your name Abby, child?"_

_ No! It's Owen._

_ Owen paused for a moment then smiled. He could not understand why he was smiling, or why he nodded his head to something he knew was untrue, but he was happy to see the elation on the old woman's face as he acknowledged her. As the woman opened her mouth to speak, the world around Owen melted away into nothingness._

Owen's eyes slowly fluttered open. He could see Abby directly in front of him, a tear in her eye. He leaned sideways onto the bed and laid still for just a moment trying to fight the inevitable, but it was a losing battle. His eyelids felt increasingly heavy and began to close until Abby entered his field of vision. He could see that she had lied down directly in front of him and was watching him drift off into the dark abyss that was calling his name.

"Good night, sweet prince; and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest," Abby whispered softly into his ear.

"What's," Owen's whispers were cut off by the dreamworld overtaking everything else.

Abby managed a soft, timid smile as she whispered, "Hamlet," into his ear. She unclasped the boots that Owen was wearing and slipped them off of his feet. Carefully, Abby repositioned him into a more comfortable sleeping position and lifted the sheets over him tucking them beneath his neck. After she had attended to Owen, she slumped back down against the wall on side of the bed and picked up the old puzzle. She studied it closely for a moment remembering fondly its origins before putting it back into their bag.

"This will be hard. For both of us," Abby whispered softly.

* * *

It was later than Jonathan had expected as he returned to the motel. His night had been semi-uneventful: alcohol, lots of it, and his new paid companion for the evening, Jessica. Jessica clung to his arm as they exited the taxi by the street and walked into the damaged parking lot, trying to avoid the large fissures as best as best as possible. Jonathan grinned devilishly in her direction as he lead her to the door of his motel room. Reaching into his pocket, he fumbled for the door key for a moment before quickly pulling it out of his pocket, and unfortunately, sending it flying a few feet away.

"Damn!" Jonathan grumbled as he stumbled over to where the key had fallen. Slowly, he knelt down in a careful and calculated manner to try and avoid falling on his face. As he picked up the key and looked back up, he glanced in the direction of the other motel room he had purchased earlier that night and swore he saw a light coming form the window. Jonathan willed his eyes to focus for a moment as he looked at the window. She was there staring at him! He could see the small girl who had hired him several hours earlier standing in the window across the parking lot staring at him. He reached down and rubbed his eyes with his fingertips to be sure he wasn't seeing things, but when he looked at the window again, there was no light, and there was no girl.

_Must be my imagination._

Jonathan stood up and proudly raised the key in front of him. He could see Jessica was grinning widely as she motioned for him to hurry and open the door to the room. He staggered to his feet and made his way back to the door and unlocked it, swinging the door inward.

"Affa you!" Jonathan drunkenly exclaimed.

"No no, after you, baby," his companion replied. Her tone drove him wild, and he could feel exhilaration rushing through his veins. He hurried into the dark room as quick as he could. What a good decision it had been to also rent a room here for himself! As he entered, he could not prevent himself from grinning like a madman as he slipped off his alcohol-stained coat and tossed it onto the bed. Everything was going really well for him tonight until it hit him. Literally. Square on the back of the neck. Jonathan fell forward onto the ground as the black night became blacker.

* * *

Owen pulled the sheets close against him as his eyes fluttered open. He was disoriented and confused with his surroundings. A chill of anxiety quickly spread throughout his body as he realized he was not at home in his bed. He froze, stayed as still as he possibly could, and covered most of his face with the sheets. As the events of the last 24 hours started coming back to him, he quickly calmed down and pushed the anxiety out of his mind, but not his stomach. His stomach growled loudly as if he had not eaten in a very long time. In truth, this was the longest Owen had ever gone without eating.

Owen sat upright and massaged his neck a moment. With a quick yawn and stretch, he turned to dangle his legs over the side of the bed. Owen looked around the room for a moment for Abby, but was unable to find her. He also noticed their large trunk was missing. Owen figured Abby had already gone to bed for the day, and was sleeping inside of the trunk. On the small writing table beside the bed, he noticed she had left him a stack of dollar bills and a small note:

_Good morning! I hope you've slept well. I'm sleeping in the trunk in the bathroom.  
I put some money out for you. Go get something to eat, but be careful! Try not to  
let too many people see your face. Don't forget to lock the door behind you when  
you leave, and don't forget your key to get back in.  
I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything about me. It will take some time, but  
I promise I will. Please believe me. I'm Abby now, ever since that night  
you saw. _

_ Love,  
Abby_

Owen read the note several times before setting it back down on the table and picking up the cash. Two-thousand six-hundred dollars. Owen was shocked as he had never held so much money in his hands. He took two twenty-dollar bills from the stack of bills and slipped the rest under the pillow he had slept on. _Just in case._ Owen looked around the room and noticed his boots neatly placed on side of the bed. He smiled and mentally thanked Abby as he slipped them onto his feet. Time to eat!

Owen closed the red door behind him and shoved the dollar bills securely into his pocket. He zipped up his coat and began walking towards the entrance where he and Abby had came in the night before. His mind began to wander as he remembered Eli. Elias. What did it all mean? And who was that old woman he saw? He had many questions for Abby this evening, but for the time being, it was daytime. Time for him to clear his mind, and most importantly, time for him to find something to eat.

He began to hum the _Eat some now, save some for later_ jingle as he walked across the parking lot. He was forgetting something, and he pushed himself hard to try and remember what it was. As he suddenly remembered, he stopped dead in his tracks and turned in the direction of the room. He had forgotten to lock the door! He sighed as he walked back towards the door, his stomach still growling quite loudly.

Owen took the room key from his pocket and locked the deadbolt on the door. He tried the door handle. Locked. With a dutiful nod, knowing that Abby would be safe inside of their locked motel room, he turned and again through the parking lot towards the street. He was walking faster this time. Owen had not eaten anything recently with the exception of several pieces of candy, and hunger had started to catch up to him.

It was a beautiful day outside, plenty of sunlight and few clouds left the sky wide open. It was; however, still extremely cold. He must have slept late! From the sun, Owen guessed that it was early afternoon. He crossed his arms over his chest and pulled them tightly against his body in defense against the bitter cold. He kept his head down as he walked out of the motel parking lot onto the sidewalk, remembering Abby's warning to try and keep a low profile. He wasn't sure where to go, so he picked a direction and began walking.

Owen walked along the road in the same direction for several minutes. Although he had absolutely no idea where he was going, he always enjoyed exploring. Besides, in order to blend in, Owen would have to pretend like he knew where he was going. With the exception of two lone cars, there were not many people around. As each of the cars passed Owen, he turned his head away to avoid letting the drivers see his face. He felt like a secret agent.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the landscape began to change. Owen found himself in a more populated area. He even passed the occasional person. Although the town was busier than the area near the motel, it was by no means as busy as Los Alamos. There was no question about it: this was a small town.

_ I need to be quick. Get food and leave before someone sees me, just like Abby said!_

Looking around, Owen spotted the unmistakeable golden arches. McDonalds! He was in luck! He looked around for a street sign to make sure he would know how to get back, but here were none. Directly ahead of him, Owen noticed a dilapidated, out of business gas station on the corner. To reach McDonalds, he would need to turn right at the street by the gas station and head straight. After he was sure he'd remember how to get back to the motel, he began heading in the direction of McDonalds, his pace much faster than it had been.

As he reached McDonalds, Owen's hunger level was bordering on ravenous. Unfortunately, the restaurant appeared to be fairly crowded for such a small town. There were at least seven or eight families sitting at tables eating. As he looked at the families, a wave of sadness rushed over him. In truth, he did miss his mom, but as strange as a life without her was for Owen, the thought of having to live without Abby was even scarier. Besides, he was happier with Abby than he ever was with his mom. It was something he could not endure, and it was this fact that gave him the strength he needed to make his decision to leave with her. This was a new chapter in his life, and he was deep in uncharted waters.

Owen approached the counter and placed his order. It was a pretty big order, but he was very, very hungry. Owen pretended that he was ordering for two people, figuring it would help him avoid suspicion. He sat down at a nearby table while he waited for his food to be prepared. After a few moments, he returned to the counter to get his food. After verifying it was all there, a practice his father had taught him well, he left McDonalds and began the long walk back to the Rainbow Motel.

As Owen turned the corner by the old gas station, he could no longer wait. Setting the bag of food down, Owen reached inside and took a hamburger out from inside the plastic clam shell container. He ate the entire hamburger in only a few large bites. He barely even chewed before swallowing! With a loud "BURRRRP," Owen picked up his bag of food and continued to walk. When he had again reached a more rural area, he tossed the plastic clam shell hamburger container aside. Litterbug.

Owen began to wonder how long he and Abby would stay in this town. It seemed small and boring, with not much to see or do. He had wished he could have explored the town more, but it would have put the both of them at risk of being recognized. Tonight, he would have to speak to Abby and try and decide what they were going to do. Although they were pretty far away from Los Alamos, he felt confident that it was not far enough. They would have to continue moving, at least for the near future.

As much as he tried, Owen couldn't stop himself from thinking more about his discovery about Abby the night before. In the note she had left for him, she said that she was now Abby ever since that night. Owen wasn't sure exactly what this meant, but he knew that whatever she would reveal about her past, he would try his best to accept it. Abby was his future now, and at least of that, he was certain.

* * *

Jonathan slowly drifted back to consciousness and opened his eyes. He laid there a moment while his vision came back into focus, trying to remember anything from the night before. Much of the previous night's exploits were carefully avoiding him. This was likely the result of his head throbbing in pain. _Damn Hangovers._ Jonathan decided it would be in his favor to not try and stand up too quickly.

He slowly lifted himself up onto his knees and noticed his wallet on the ground beside him. He picked up his wallet and slowly lifted himself up onto the edge of the bed. He looked into his wallet and sighed heavily as he noticed all of his money was missing. Details from the previous night slowly began to return to him, and he remembered coming into the motel room with a woman he had met at a local bar, then only darkness.

_Guess I'm broke again. DAMN I'M AN IDIOT!_

Jonathan thought about where to begin his "work day" until he remembered the strange two children from the night before and how they had paid him to rent them a room. Damn kids. Always so needy. At least on this occasion, the neediness of the children had earned Jonathan a semi-decent place to sleep last night. He began wondering if perhaps the two kids would have more things they needed help with.

_ I think I'll go pay them a visit._

Jonathan grinned as he weighed the pros and cons of his options. Paying the kids another visit could be risky, especially if someone saw him alone with them in a sleazy motel and thought something, but it also could potentially earn him some easy cash. He had hoped that maybe they would be out playing, or whatever the hell kids do, and he could take a look around their room and maybe find some cash for the taking. If nothing else, Jonathan figured he'd ask if he could help them with anything else they needed.

Jonathan pulled the small stool from beneath the writing table and sat down in front of the motel room window for a moment watching the parking lot. With the exception of a family that looked to be packing their things into their car, there was no activity. He watched the family a few moments as they all climbed into the vehicle and began pull away. Jonathan chuckled as he noticed the occupants being jostled around as their car road over the dilapidated concrete. He was thankful he wasn't in the car with them. His stomach could not take it.

He sat there for several moment trying to let the fog clear completely from his head before he ventured out. He had made at least one good decision last night and with childish delight, Jonathan grinned widely as he thought of it. When he rented the motel room for the kids, the clerk had given him two room keys. It was only logical that the kids would only need one, so he kept the second. Just in case. He looked directly across the parking lot at the door to the room where the kids had gone the night. He remembered seeing, what he thought was the girl, looking out of the window directly at him. Was he seeing things?

As Jonathan sat there reflecting on what he may or may not have seen the night before, his concentration was broken as the kid's motel room door opened. He could see the boy slip out from the door and begin to walk towards the exit of the parking lot. He wasn't carrying anything, which means he must have left his bags in the room. Jonathan was elated.

_ This could be my chance to make some quick cash._

_ But what about the girl?_

_ Did she go out earlier? Is she still there?_

Jonathan watched the boy for a moment to make sure he was leaving, but as he crossed in front of the large sign in the center of the parking lot, the boy suddenly stopped and turned back towards the room.

_ Damnit! Where's he going?_

As the boy reached the door to his room, Jonathan could see him reach into his pocket and pull out something, probably the room key, and fiddle with the doorknob. Although Jonathan could not see exactly what the boy was doing, he decided that the boy had just forgotten to lock the door. His suspicions were quickly validated as the boy turned and once again began walking towards the exit to the parking lot.

_ Stupid kids._

He waited awhile, perhaps ten minutes, to make sure the boy was really gone before preparing himself to visit the other motel room. He wondered what he'd do if the girl was still there.

_If the girl is still there, I'll just ask if they need anything else._

_ Its not like they're going to need help installing a duct or something, you idiot. They're kids!_

_ I've got to try. I'm broke. Begging works sometimes, but if they have that much money, this is easier._

After several minutes had passed, Jonathan closed the curtains to his room and slipped out the front door, locking it behind him. He walked directly across the parking lot to their door.

_Act normally. You're an adult, and as far as anyone is concerned, this is a second room for you._

Jonathan knocked softly on the red door to the motel room. Pressing his ear up against the door he waited for several seconds listening for any sound inside of the room. Nothing. He had seen the boy leave several minutes ago, but he wondered again about the girl? She must be gone too he decided as he slipped the key into the door, unlocked it, and opened it. Sunlight flooded into the dark room illuminating what was sure to be a mess, after all, two children had been living there alone.

_ What were they doing there?_

Curiosity continued to grow exponentially in Jonathan's mind as he stepped into the motel room and closed the door behind him. Fumbling around for the light switch, he mentally cursed at how dark the room was. With the lamp now illuminating the room, Jonathan could see it was in surprisingly good shape with the exception of a few toys and books strewn around the bed. The kids didn't have much with them when he had met them, only a backpack and that large trunk.

_ I'd better go before someone sees me._

Jonathan began walking to the front door but stopped before he arrived there realizing he had to take a piss. He was undecided for a moment whether or not he should leave and piss elsewhere, but quickly decided the pressure on his bladder was bad enough to risk going where he was. He turned around and headed over to the closed bathroom door.

Opening the door, his curiosity was again peeked. Sitting right in the center of the bathroom was the kid's large trunk. It was one of those old, classic looking trunks that you don't see around too often anymore.

_ Was that where they kept their money?_

_ Jonathan, why did you come here? Don't get caught._

_ Man up! One peek won't hurt anything. Besides, the cops would believe you over them._

_ Wouldn't they?_

Unfortunately for Jonathan, his curiosity had won the battle over reason this time and as such, he headed over to the trunk to take a peek inside. A sense of concern suddenly washed over his mind as he knelt down in front of trunk and examined it closely for a moment. A drop of sweat slid down cheek as he reached out and slowly raised the lid to the trunk. Brushing the sweat drop from his cheek, he peered inside of the trunk. Then his heart skipped a beat.

* * *

After walking for awhile, Owen could see the motel ahead of him on the left. He figured he'd finish the rest of his food for dinner later in the evening so he wouldn't have to go out again. As he walked past the motel office, something caught his eye. When he turned around to investigate, he was horrified to see _MASSACRE AT LOS ALAMOS POOL_ as the text on the front page.

_Oh no. I have to get this to show it to Abby._

Reaching into his pocket, Owen pulled out all of the coins he had been given at McDonalds after having paid for his meal. He slipped the appropriate coinage into the small machine and pulled out a copy of the news paper. Owen was very concerned, worried that someone may have seen him and would alert the police that he and Abby were here. They would have to leave again and get farther away from Los Alamos, probably even out of the state. Soon. Owen would go anywhere as long as Abby was with him.

Owen folded the paper and slipped it under his arm as he sprinted back towards the room. As he entered the parking lot, he dodged the large potholes with almost inhuman finesse. Abby would be proud. He fished into his pocket for the room key, and after several seconds of fumbling around, he managed to pull it out and unlock the door to the motel room. Owen opened the door just enough for him to slip inside. As he entered, he quickly closed and locked the door behind him, hoping that no one had seen him go inside.

* * *

Jonathan froze as he saw her. Inside the large trunk was the girl he had met the night before, her back was facing him. She was laying there, as far as he could tell, completely lifeless. Panic rushed through his mind as he began to imagine several scenarios as to what might have happened to her.

Is_ she dead? Did the boy kill her? _

_ My fingerprints are all over the room! The cops will try to pin this on me!_

_ No! You can't be dead!_

Reaching into the trunk, he vigorously shook the little girl's shoulder as he exclaimed, "Wake up! Wake up!" With a soft moan, the child shrugged off Jonathan's shaking and rolled over in his direction, still unconscious.

_ She's alive!_

Jonathan breathed a collective sigh of relief. Now that he had determined the little girl was alive, he began to wonder why the hell she was sleeping in the trunk. Were they playing hide and go seek or something? Why isn't she out with the boy? Where did the boy go?

"You must be one deep sleeper," Jonathan whispered as he stood up, preparing to leave. With a second sigh of relief, he turned and walked towards the door of the bathroom. With his back towards the trunk, he missed her eyes shooting open. As he exited the bathroom, Jonathan paused again to look around the room one final time before leaving. That's when it hit him with the force of a freight train. Before he knew what had happened, his world had dissolved into a swirling mesh of colors as his head impacted with the ground. Again. Hard.


	3. Chapter Three, Part One: New Alliances

_Who is Eli?_ is a story that is set directly following the newly released _Let Me In_ film. Owen casually finds one of Abby's puzzles and notices the name "Eli" etched upon it. Abby decides the time is right to reveal more of her mysterious past.

**NOTE:**

I have seen both _Let the Right One In_ and _Let Me In_ and have also read the novel. I feel this story is one of the most beautiful tales I've ever come to know. This work of fan fiction is an attempt take what, in my humble opinion, are the best elements from both movies and the novel and bring them together while at the same time revealing my version of what happens when the train stops. Please leave comments on what you liked and didn't like!

In this first part of Chapter 3, we learn more about the cost of Abby's vampiric abilities as well as get a glimpse into Jonathan's past. The two are given a swift reminder that Abby's past isn't their only obstacle to overcome. This and all other chapters are cross-posted at We The Infected. Find it out at your favorite search engine.

-Naitouk, among the ranks of "**We The Infected**."

**I apologize for taking so long to get this released. I just recently lost a loved one that I was very close to, and have been struggling to deal with that and all that comes with it. I hope to have part two out in the near future.**

Chapter Three (Part One): New Alliances

Owen folded the newspaper and slipped it under his arm as he sprinted back towards the room. As he entered the parking lot, he dodged the large potholes with finesse only a kid could achieve. He fished into his pocket for the room key, and after several seconds of fumbling around, he managed to pull it out and unlock the door to the motel room. Owen opened the door just enough for him to discretely enter.

Owen slipped into the motel room and closed the door behind him quickly. After having found a newspaper with the headline _MASSACRE AT LOS ALAMOS POOL,_ Owen was extremely anxious. It took his brain a second to process what was going on. As he turned towards the room, he could see a body face down on the ground in front of the bed with its arms stretched out directly in front of it. Although completely unnecessary, a motionless body was being pinned down by what Owen quickly recognized to be Abby's tiny frame. As Abby held the body's head firmly in her iron grasp, Owen dropped the newspaper and bag of food he had been carrying as he noticed Abby's pair of small dirty white fangs poised to penetrate the neck. She looked up in surprise towards Owen as he entered the room.

"Abby don't!" Owen exclaimed as he stepped back pressing himself against the door, his mouth wide in sheer terror. He remained perfectly still as he looked at her, but even though she was right in front of him, he could not find her. Her pupils were almost entirely dilated, two black voids that seemed to swallow all traces of the light around them. Abby's once beautiful face had been replaced by a look of feral hunger. Owen could see the well-pronounced veins beneath her skin. Her thirst was palpable. Even Owen could feel it.

Abby snapped her head in his direction and lowered it slightly, her eyes focused on Owen as if poised to strike. Almost immediately, the gaping maw that was her mouth closed concealing the deadly vampiric implements within. Her pupils quickly became smaller until they returned to normal, her skin once again became lily white and almost picture perfect with the once protruding veins safely concealed within. Abby dropped the body's head and quickly buried her face in her hands. Owen could see her taking very slow, deep breaths.

Owen slowly stepped towards her and took her hand. She shuddered slightly at first at his touch, but offered no resistance. He tugged on her hand gently and guided her off the prone body. As she stepped away from the motionless human, Owen quickly grabbed her and wrapped his arms tightly around her trembling body. Abby stood there for a moment before slowly lowering her head onto his shoulder. After several moments, she began to calm down as she slipped her arms around his waist.

"You okay?" Owen asked.

"He startled me. I thought he had hurt you."

"What happened?"

"He came into the room and found me in the trunk. I got scared," Abby paused a moment, "Then you were there."

"Are you okay now?"

"Yeah," she momentarily paused, " Owen?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're here."

"Me too," Owen said as he released her from his arms. Abby lifted her head from his shoulders and looked to him. As their gazes met, Owen once again recognized the person before him. Abby. His best friend, his girlfriend. For a moment, the world melted away leaving only the two of them. Owen forgot everything else. For just a moment.

* * *

The adrenalin surged through his veins and the palpitations of his heart were as audible as large bass drums. He slapped the steering wheel in frustration and began to tap his foot repeatedly on the accelerator. The car responded with a definite _VROOM_. He began to hum a tune, the beats matching the patterns of his hands as they assaulted the steering wheel. He nervously looked all around.

_Damnit. Where the hell are they?_

Another night of drunken fun, except this time, he had agreed to a special task. Although he was not completely inebriated, he knew he'd regret this buzz in the morning. His eyes continued to dart around in all directions as he sat there as jittery as could be. He glanced down at his watch, an expensive silver Rolex his father had given him on his 18'th birthday, and tried to read the time. Not a chance this time.

Moments later, two young men began to walk towards the car. Although he could not see them clearly, he could tell by their brisk pace it was his friends. It was time to leave. After what seemed like an eternity, the back door to his car opened and the two men piled quickly into the car.

"Drive! Drive!" One of the men exclaimed, the other began to laugh vigorously at the same time.

He shifted the vehicle into gear and pressed harder on the accelerator than he had anticipated. He was caught off guard as the car lurched forward sending a garbage can soaring through the air. As the car lunged forward, he barely managed to roughly cut the wheel to avoid slamming into another vehicle as he entered the street. The car soared down the road gaining speed. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"How much you got, Josh?" One of the men stammered out between his chuckles.

"Lots," responded the other man, his voice booming with pride.

The others were silent, the smirks on their faces growing larger and larger. An eerie silence loomed in the car. The silence was soon replaced with the sound of skidding tires. Although several minutes had passed, for Jonathan, time lurched forward with great speed. It all happened so fast leaving his mind reeling in a futile attempt to catch up. In the end, the world slowly faded away into darkness. Around him, he could hear faint voices …

_ "Because when I do them, I get hungry faster." _

_ "What"_

_

* * *

_"You dropped your food," Abby said as she walked over to the McDonalds bag. As she reached the spot where it was, she noticed the newspaper beside it, "What's this?"

"I forgot about that," he sighed before looking straight at her, "We can't stay here, Abby."

Abby turned the paper over to view the front page. She stood there quietly for a moment as she read the words. After she had finished, she folded the newspaper up and tossed it into the corner of the room, "We need to go away, we need to go far away from Los Alamos."

"Where?"

Abby sighed deeply as she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, "I don't know. We can get a cab and just drive."

Owen lowered his voice to the same level as Abby, "What are we going to do with," he gestured to the body that laid in front of their bed, "his body?"

"Owen," Abby paused for just a moment, a small smile overtaking her features, "I didn't," her voice trailed off as she nodded at Owen.

Owen sighed deeply.

"Isn't that guy from the train station? Maybe he can help us?"

Abby shrugged.

Owen looked over at the unconscious man for a moment considering Abby's words. After a moment, he turned back towards Abby and whispered, "Do you think he'll try anything?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, try to rob us, or call the police?" Owen asked as he sniffed at the air.

"I don't know. But I don't think he would."

"We can offer him money to help us. Here," Owen walked over to the bed, reached under the pillow, and withdrew a stack of bills, "this is from earlier. We can pay him with this."

"Okay! We have more in the trunk too if we need it."

"Great! Maybe if we offer him enough, he'll come with us and get us another place like this."

Abby smiled softly and nodded her head. She knew that many men were motivated by money, and money was likely to never become an issue for her and Owen. Unfortunately, Abby was also painfully aware that not all men are motivated by money. She hoped with every fiber of her being that the drunk laying before them would demand a price that she and Owen could indeed pay.

"Everything okay? You changed your hair?" asked Owen, a look of curiosity forming over his features.

"What do you mean?"

"Um," Owen blushed and stuttered a moment as he reached over and gingerly ran his fingertips along the tips of Abby's hair. He pointed out the beginnings of small white streaks that had formed.

Abby looked down at her hair for a moment and nodded her head slightly as she whispered, "I'll be okay," she paused for a moment, "after I eat."

"Oh," Owen's voice trailed off, "I thought you ate a lot," he moved his pointer finger in a circle, "the other night?"

"Sometimes, "Abby began slowly, "I do things," she paused for a moment, trying to understand how to put her thoughts into words, "like, um," she continued to think for just a moment, "like that night I slept over at your place. Remember that night?"

Owen's cheeks became bright, bright red, "Yeah. I never had a girl sleep over before."

A soft smile formed over Abby's features, "You asked me how I got in, and I said I flew. Remember?"

Owen thought about it for just a moment and remembered the intense scent of gasoline. He had been extremely tired that night and thought the entire visit with Abby was only a dream. At least until he found her note the next morning. "Yeah! I thought it was all a dream!"

"Do you believe me now? That I flew?"

Owen simply swallowed hard. A month ago, he would have laughed in her face, but now, Owen had begun to understand that not everything he thought he knew applied. A look of genuine curiosity suddenly took over his expressions, "How," he paused a moment, "how'd you do it?"

"Owen," Abby looked down a moment, "I don't like to do special things."

"Why not?"

"Because when I do them, I get hungry faster."

"What," Owen stopped mid sentence and pointed over at the body of the man that had began to stir about. Owen lowered his voice to just above a whisper, "Is he awake?"

Abby turned around and looked down at the man who was obviously beginning to move again. She quickly turned her head away and took a deep breath, obviously bothered by something. After several seconds, she turned back to the man whose eyes were slowly opening. She watched him.

Owen took a step forward to stand beside Abby. He looked down at the man and asked, "You okay?"

The man groaned loudly for a second before responding sarcastically, "No."

Abby smirked as she knelt down closer to the man and asked, "What's your name?"

The man reached one hand behind his head and delicately rubbed it. As his hand crossed the wounds on the back of his neck, he winced and closed his eyes, an expression of great pain overtaking his features. Today certainly did not turn out as he had planned. Moving his hand away from the back of his head, he mumbled, "Jonathan."

"Ok Jonathan. Why did you come in our room?" Abby asked inquisitively.

Jonathan slowly opened his again to see the little girl kneeling down in front of him. He sighed deeply as he stammered out, "Money. I was robbed. I needed more."

Owen looked down to Abby for a second, then back to Jonathan as he asked, "So you need money?"

Jonathan nodded his head.

Abby smiled sarcastically at Jonathan, "We have money. Wanna trade?"

"Trade what?" Jonathan asked as he pushed himself over onto his side, trying to look in the direction of the two children.

Abby stood back up on her feet. "We need your help."

"With what?"

"We can't stay here," Abby began, her expression suddenly growing extremely serious, "we need to leave. Tomorrow night."

Owen nodded his head.

"What does that have to do with me? Where are you going?"

"As far from here as you can get in one night time."

"Wait. Why are you leaving at night?"

Owen swallowed hard and turned towards Abby.

Abby reached down and slipped her hand into Owen's as she frantically try to invent a plausible reason. "You can go faster." Not very plausible.

Owen tapped his foot nervously on the ground as he blurted out, "And there's less people!"

Jonathan managed to push himself upwards to a sitting position using the wall behind him to support his back. He looked over at the two, his eyes studying each in turn, "Fun? Bullshit, kid. Are you runaways?"

Owen sighed heavily, "Yes."

Abby snapped her head in Owen's direction for just a moment, then back to Jonathan. "You can't tell anyone about us."

Jonathan painfully managed a grin as he cleared his throat. "Well, that depends. How much money do you have?"

"Jonathan," Abby sighed softly, "you really can't tell anyone about us."

"Oh yes I can."

"No you can't." Abby released Owen's hand from hers and took a step closer towards Jonathan and gazed deeply into his eyes. There was a new sincerity in her voice, almost pleading as she whispered, "Please..."

* * *

"Oh yes I can."

_Damn kid. Think she can push me around? _

Jonathan looked up as the girl had stepped closer to him.

_What is she doing?_

A look of curiosity flooded his features as the girl gazed into his eyes. In an instant, her facial expressions became different. Jonathan continued to watch the girl, but moments later, he became aware of the fact that something was just not right. Instead of gazing upon her pretty face, Jonathan found himself looking into a ghost of what stood before him only moments before.

_ What the hell?_

The girl was sad. Jonathan could see that child's face, one an icon of perfection, had gone from devoid of all expression to something else. Although Jonathan wanted to look away, he found himself unable to take his eyes off of the child. He suddenly felt alone, trapped, as if he were forced into a room so dark you couldn't see your own hands.

The sensation of loneliness quickly became worse. Although he was in a motel room with two children standing directly in front of him, Jonathan _felt_ as if he were trapped and alone. As the loneliness washed over him in seemingly endless waves, another sensation entered his mind. Hopelessness. In his mind, the world suddenly became much more of a cold, unforgiving place promising only infinite sadness and sorrow. A tear managed to escape from his eyes which were still locked on the girl standing in front of him. All aspirations he once had, all of his dreams were pointless and void.

After a few moments, Jonathan began to slowly calm himself as he climbed out of the dark abyss within his mind. He looked up to meet the gaze of the girl whose eyes were still fixed on him. He could see a tear had slid from her eye. He looked at her for a moment and again saw the prettiest thing that once again embodied perfection standing before him. He blinked his eyes as the strange sensations slowly drifted away from him. Life was again worth living.

_What the hell is going on?_

"What," he stuttered, "What are you?"

The girl remained completely quiet as she turned away from his gaze and stepped back closer to the boy. She stopped next to the him, and with her back still facing Jonathan, she lowered her head slightly as she softly whispered, "I'm nothing."

Jonathan watched in silence as the girl turned away from him and moved closer to the other child. He continued to wonder exactly what had just happened.

"What," he paused for a moment, overcome by a sense of genuine curiosity that he had not felt in quite awhile, "What do you need?"


	4. Chapter Three, Part Two: New Alliances

_Who is Eli?_ is a story that is set directly following the _Let Me In_ film. Owen casually finds one of Abby's puzzles and notices the name "Eli" etched upon it. Abby decides the time is right to reveal more of her mysterious past.

Here's the long awaited Chapter 3 Part 2. Sorry it took me so long to get this to you! After I release Chapter 4, or at least part of it, I'm going to be including another set of short chapters that I'll likely call "Abby's Notes" which give you some insight into what she's thinking as the story continues. Look for this in the very near future. Part one is complete, but I'm waiting on releasing it until I release the next chapter of "Who is Eli?"

* * *

**Chapter 3, Part 2**

After a few moments had passed, Abby turned to face Jonathan once again. The expression of deep sorrow was beginning to leave her facial expressions. As she turned, she slipped her hand quietly into Owen's.

Jonathan blinked his eyes a few times in an attempt to snap back into reality. After a few seconds, he ran his hand over his face as if he were waking up from a very deep and restful sleep. Turning his eyes slowly towards Owen then Abby, and asked, "Where do you plan to go?"

Owen's lips curled into a frown as he slowly turned his head in Abby's direction. Abby gently squeezed his hand and offered a small, reassuring smile as she spoke, "Far away from here. Do you have any ideas?"

Jonathan turned his eyes upwards towards the ceiling, pondering the girl's question for a moment. He sighed, "I'll think about it."

Abby's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing his words and asked sharply, "Are you going to think about it while you drink?"

Owen's head snapped back in the direction of Jonathan, the look of uncertainty in his eyes becoming worse as he pleaded, "We don't have time for that! Please help us!"

Jonathan turned his eyes to gaze directly into the face of the boy and swallowed deeply as he slightly nodded his head, "You're right. We don't," his eyes slowly drifted over to the girl as he continued to speak, "I need to get out of here as much as you do. I don't know who," he paused a moment to clear his throat, "or what you are, but I'm going to help you. Give me a day to think about it, because if we aren't careful, very bad things will happen. I know I may seem like a total screw-up to you, but I'm a lot more capable than I look." Jonathan paused for a moment, a great sadness settling in over his face, "I wasn't always this way."

Abby fixed her eyes upon Jonathan's face, "You'd better not tell anyone about us."

Jonathan's eyes also narrowed, the seeds of anger beginning to grow within him, "I'm not going to say anything to anyone," he paused a moment in an apparent attempt to calm himself, "and I'm not going to drink anything either."

Abby nodded her head, "Then we'll see you tomorrow?"

Owen had began to relax, the look of uncertainty beginning to melt away from his features. For the first time, a small, timid smile began to form on his lips.

Jonathan turned his head yet again to face the boy and studied him for just a moment before nodding his head, "Yeah. Tomorrow."

Abby had slipped her hand free from Owen's grasp and began making her way to the back of the small room. Towards the bathroom.

Owen timidly nodded his head in Jonathan's direction and glanced towards the door of the small room. After several moments, Jonathan looked back towards the girl before slowly making his way towards the door and exiting the room. Thankfully, with Jonathan's back towards the children, he missed the Abby deftly slipping into the shadowy refuge that was the bathroom, narrowly managing to avoid the onslaught of sunlight that flooded into the room.

It was going to be a long day for Owen.

* * *

"Owen, I know this man says he can help us," Abby began as she turned her eyes from the cards held in her hand to Owen, "But we gotta still be careful. I don't trust him fully."

Owen turned his ever-growing hand of cards (she always wins!) over and placed them carefully on the ground so that Abby could not see what he held. "Yeah. He can at least give us a ride. But he'll want to know why you only go out at night."

"I know," Abby sighed, "but for now, we need to get out of here. We're still too close to Los Alamos"

"Yeah. Will we be safe traveling?"

" I think so. But if its a really long drive, how will I stay out of the sun?"

"You can get in the trunk. We can't leave it."

"But Owen, that's going to make him wonder even more." She frowned.

"Maybe we can stop at another motel like this. Pay for rooms again."

Abby nodded, considering the idea. "I like that." Abby once again considered the fact that all people were motivated by something. Initially when they had met Jonathan, she looked at him as a drunkard, someone that could perform services for the two of them in exchange for money which would then be used to purchase alcohol or drugs. She had dealt with that type many, many times over her long existence. She knew that as long as she had money, her needs could be met. After all, everything has a price, doesn't it? But then, she realized that she was confused by (perhaps even mistaken about) their new friend.

Abby always prided herself on being an excellent judge of a person within a short time of meeting them. It enabled her to survive and provided an extra defensive mechanism against the harsh realities of the world. In Jonathan's case, reconsideration of his character appeared to be warranted. She was desperate. Now that she was responsible for someone other than herself, things were even more complicated. This is why she opened herself to Jonathan so quickly, allowed him to gaze into the abyss that was her soul. She hoped that this would have been enough to obtain Jonathan's help, and luckily, it was. But when she had opened herself to him, she could tell that her initial thoughts of him were wrong. Perhaps he could be trusted to a certain degree. This would have to be evaluated further.

Owen idly waved his hand again in front of his girlfriend's face to try and get her attention. Abby had been staring blankly at the ground between them. "You okay?"

Abby blushed ever so slightly, "Yes, I-" her head shot towards the door of the motel room. Soft knocking was heard.

A look of intense fear clouded Owen's face as he also looked towards the door.

"Its probably that guy. Jonathan," Abby reassured as she stood up and headed for the door. She paused for a moment before opening the door. It was Jonathan.

Abby quickly closed the door behind Jonathan almost immediately after he stepped into the room.

"Don't look so happy to see me," Jonathan grumbled as he removed his coat, tossing it onto the bed next to him.

"So," Abby asked, maneuvering herself (almost strategically) from around behind him to in stand at Owen's side, "What do you think?"

Owen kept quiet.

"You two are strange kids," he began, "especially you," he continued, pointing directly at Abby, "I think that you're in almost as much trouble as I am, and I'm way in over my head. I need to leave this place. Now. And I'm planning to go back to my home town. You two can come along if you want."

"Where is your hometown?" Abby inquired.

"New Orleans," Jonathan replied and held out a bus ticket, "Are you in?"

Owen looked to Abby, his face swimming in uncertainty.

"When?"

"Two hours. The bus stop is a fifteen minute walk in the direction of town."

"We'll go with you." Abby responded confidently, not a hint of hesitation in her voice.

"Okay. I need to do a few things before we leave. I will come get you when I'm ready. When we get to the bus station, give me your money and I'll go buy your tickets. No offense, but it looks really strange two kids buying bus tickets alone at night."

Abby nodded, "Okay. We'll get our things ready too."

With that, Jonathan turned to leave. Abby followed him to the door and closed it quickly behind him. Just as she began to turn back towards Owen, loud commotion could be heard from outside the door. Abby froze for a moment, straining her ears to hear the details of the occurrence. Something was not right.

* * *

"Well, well, well... If it isn't my good pal Jonathan," The man grinned in Jonathan's direction as he exited the children's room, "You have a whore in there? Or is this where you've been hiding?" Several other large men stepped out from the vehicle and quickly moved to stand beside the original.

Jonathan swallowed hard but just stared at the man.

"Where's my money, John? The ten grand you borrowed plus 25%. That should be," he paused for a moment, pretending to calculate something in his mind, "thirty thousand."

"Don't you mean twelve and a half?"

"You got the money or not?" The man asked, a cocky tone in his voice. The crowd of other men that stood at his side tried their best to appear menacing and dangerous.

"Tomorrow. I'll have it tomorrow."

"Do not fuck with me, John. Pay the money now, or you die."

"Please. Give me until tomorrow," Jonathan pleaded, his head moving left to right, sizing up the crowd of henchmen surrounding the center man. He knew that if he was not granted a 24 hour reprieve to escape, this would likely be his death.

"You disappoint me, John." The tall man turned and walked back towards the vehicle stopping briefly in front of a large pothole. He reached his foot out to kick at a small rock within the pothole. Moments later, he turned his head back to the men who had, more or less, remained standing at attention and commanded, "Kill him."

Jonathan instinctively took a step back. Unfortunately, his step landed him into another of the gaping potholes and he fell backwards onto his rear, his head striking the ground. Laughter erupted all around him as his head impacted (yet again) with the ground. He was quickly surrounded by four men armed with various melee implements. The beating quickly began. Jonathan knew this was the end.

* * *

The first head came off relatively easy, a clean split at the neck. The sweet, liquid of life (or unlife) untimely wasted, spilled upon the ground. Moments later, the second goon directly across from the now headless was knocked back onto his rear as the creature swiftly moved in for the kill. The strike was calculated and brief. Abby sunk her pale white fangs into the man's neck, savoring the sweet vitae for a brief moment before ripping her maws away. Blood spurted from the vicious wound as the man fell to the ground to meet his swift death. She crouched down, her blood soaked hair concealing savage, otherworldly features. The remaining two men quickly backed up away from Jonathan.

The man leading the assault quickly spoke up, "It's just a little girl! Kill her too!"

The henchmen did not move forward. They continued slowly backing away from Abby as she rose slowly from her position and moved towards Jonathan, fighting with every fiber of her being to maintain control over the beast who was also fighting for domination. She knelt down in front of the battered body that was Jonathan. He was still alive, and conscious.

"Ru-," he began to speak until he saw the blood covering her once angelic features.

Abby said nothing.

"Get the boy and go before they kill you both!"

And then it happened. Almost in unison, the sound of gunfire filled the air, and Abby was struck by several of the shots in the back. She crumpled forward onto Jonathan, bleeding profusely from the vicious wounds on her back. Jonathan instinctively captured the child in his arms. She weighed almost nothing, and he gently laid her face forward onto the pot-hole ridden pavement, unsure of what measures to take to try and save her.

"Finish them both," the leader instructed with an air of arrogant confidence, as he moved to sit back inside of their vehicle.

The two henchmen nodded in agreement and began walking in the direction of Abby and Jonathan, their pistols drawn at the ready. The larger of the two began to walk faster, his pistol stretched out in front of him.

"I'll do her. She killed Marv," absently stated the first man.

"Fine. Just hurry up," responded the second.

He positioned the gun several feet above the wounded girl's head and smiled, savoring his victory. "I will enjoy this," he said as his trigger-finger began to gently apply force to the trigger. As the trigger reached the point of no return, the result was much different from what he expected. Before his brain could register the outcome, he found himself laying flat on his back, the young girl sprawled on top of him with her jaws locked firmly around his neck. As he began to register the scene in his mind, he felt his attachment to the world slowly melting away.

The girl stood in eerie silence and turned her expression to the other, pistol wielding man who had begun to open fire upon her. She grimaced and stumbled backwards with each successful shot, but continued moving towards him at full speed after his gun registered its first bare click. It took no time at all before she was upon him, draining the content of his veins dry.

Jonathan propped himself forward with his arms staged behind the rest of his body. He stared at the sight in amazement as the man who originally lead the assault exited his vehicle and ran away faster than previously thought to be possible. Only one question remained in his mind: _what the hell just happened?_

He rose slowly to his feet and began to creep towards Abby who was kneeling down beside the body of the drained man. She was breathing heavily, her blood-soaked palms over the cheeks of her face. He could hear soft sobbing as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

* * *

_What the hell do I do? What can I say? She just killed four men! She's not human!_

_ She's a child, John. Probably one with some kind of extensive martial arts training or something. You're a rational person, go check on her!_

_ BULLSHIT! She was shot no less than seven times and she's still alive! She isn't a child, she's some kind of monster!_

Jonathan could see the face of the other child, the boy, peeking curiously from inside of the room he and the girl had shared. He turned back towards the girl who was on her knees beside the body of the last assailant. He sighed audibly to himself.

_ I need to see if she's alright, then we need to get out of here._

He stood and moved slowly towards the girl, still unsure if he should fear for his own life. Upon reaching her, he could hear the soft sobs of a broken child trying to comfort herself. As much as he hated children, there was no mistake about it, he felt as if he needed to comfort her too. He gently reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," he began as softly as he could, "Are you alright?"

Between sobs, the girl nodded.

"We can't stay here. We need to go."

The girl nodded again and wiped her eyes and rose to her feet. Without a word, she began walking towards the room where she and her young companion had spent the last night. Jonathan watched her go.

_I guess I should let them do their thing._

He then looked towards the abandoned, nondescript vehicle still parked in the center of the parking lot. He grinned evilly to himself. There would be no taking a bus tonight.

Several minutes later, just as the nervousness began to set in, the children emerged from the room and began to run in the direction of the vehicle. They carried nothing but the large trunk in which he had found the girl earlier that week. Jonathan ran to meet them as the sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance. They quickly loaded the car.

"Get in! We need to leave! Now," exclaimed the now frantic Jonathan as leaped into the drivers seat of the still running vehicle. The girl, still soaked in the blood of the attackers, hopped into the car directly behind him, the boy to her right. Just as the children closed the door behind themselves, Jonathan pulled off through the exit of the motel and speed down the road back towards the train station passing a convoy of three police vehicles along the way. He let loose a sigh of relief.

The trio sat in silence for several hours until Jonathan eased the vehicle off the road onto the grass beside a stream of quickly flowing water. He paused for a moment, trying to take in all that had just happened. It was very dark along the abandoned country rode. He he had decided to take back roads to avoid detection. After a moment, he turned forwards the children and swallowed hard.

"Why not clean some of that," he paused uncomfortably for a moment, "blood off of you."

After a moment of silence, the gir slowly reached her hand up to the handle of the door and opened it. After a moment of pause, she slipped out from the vehicle and walked over towards the stream. The boy followed close behind her.

Jonathan broke into a cold sweat. He had grown used to living a nomadic, fugitive life, but this time, things were different. How he had in his "possession" two children. If that wasn't bad enough, one of the two children now qualified as a murderer. Yes, it was self-defense, but still, she had killed four people in front of his eyes. No telling how many witnesses there were.

_I guess we should continue on to New Orleans._

_ Maybe I should try and talk to April again... What the hell will she think when she sees these two kids? Better question is … What should I DO with these two kids? I can't leave them on their own.._

_ I'll focus on getting to New Orleans, then ditching this car..._


	5. Chapter Four: Prelude to Puella Aeterna

_Who is Eli?_ is a story that is set directly following the _Let Me In_ film. Owen casually finds one of Abby's puzzles and notices the name "Eli" etched upon it. Abby decides the time is right to reveal more of her mysterious past.

Look for Chapter One of Abby's Notes to make it's debut in the coming days. "Abby's Notes" will give the reader some insight into what Abby's thinking as the story progresses. The two stories will exist in the same universe, so it will also help to fill in parts of the story that don't make it into "Who is Eli?"

Please take a moment to leave me a note and tell me what you think. Thank you!

Chapter Four: Prelude to Puella Aeterna

The genesis of the impending dawn began to creep slowly over the tops of the trees surrounding the nearly abandoned road. Abby, still crouched down beside the small stream, had managed clean most of the blood from her extremities. Though her clothes were still soaked and badly stained from their encounter, her angelic beauty was no longer cloaked beneath a viscous coat of blood. She looked up towards the sky and smiled as she noticed the shade of dark blue beginning to color the sky.

"Owen," she took his hand into hers, "I wish I could sit here with you and watch the sun come up. Its been a very long time."

"Me too," Owen responded, gently squeezing her hand.

"That's one of the worst parts about being like me," Abby frowned, "never feeling the warm sun again."

Owen was unsure of how to respond to this. He would have given anything to become part of her world, to receive the caress of darkness and forsake the sun for all of eternity. Although he was unsure of how Abby would feel about granting him her gift, he resolved himself to discussing it with her when things settled down. Although the silence was somewhat awkward, he remained quiet, enjoying the moment of being close with her.

"I, um." Abby looked down towards the ground as if embarrassed, her cheeks quickly gaining color, "I really like you a lot." She could not look him in the face.

Owen also blushed. "I like you t-" his words interrupted by her lips pressing gently against his, her body trembled slightly. This was big. This was Owen's second kiss on the lips. Ever.

After several moments, their lips parted leaving both of their heads bashfully studying the content of the ground. Owen smiled so big that it hurt. Although he knew that he'd be spending another long day alone in an unknown place, that fact did not ruin the moment he had shared with Abby.

"Owen, I have to go now," she gave his hand another squeeze and offered him a small, cute smile. The hue painting the sky began to grow brighter, they would soon be joined by the rising sun.

The two children walked hand in hand back towards the vehicle. After a few moments, Owen had successfully helped Abby into the trunk, securing it tightly shut. Jonathan watched in disbelief from the rear view mirror of the car. Owen moved to sit in the front beside Jonathan. He knew that questions would soon come, and he struggled with how honest to be.

After several minutes of silence, Jonathan began, "So, " he paused for a moment, "I'm sorry, I forgot your name. What was it again?"

Owen wondered if he should give his real name, but decided that after all they had been through, it wouldn't hurt.

"Owen."

"That's right. Owen. Okay, Owen," Jonathan nodded.

"Don't be afraid of Abby."

Jonathan smiled. He now knew her name too.

"I'm not afraid of her, Owen," he cautiously began, "If she wanted to hurt me, I'm sure we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"Yes."

"Owen, she got shot many times."

Owen nodded.

"When she was cleaning off back there," he paused, trying to word this as delicate as possible, "I saw her back. She wasn't hurt at all."

"You can't hurt Abby. Except for the sun."

"Is that why she's hiding in that trunk right now?"

"Yes. She can't come out into the sunlight. It hurts her."

Jonathan nodded his head slowly. He understood what the boy was getting at, but he could not convince himself that what was being said could be possible. Jonathan had begun feeling differently than he usually did in the last few hours. It had been several days since his last drinking binge and his head was beginning to clear. The ability to think both rationally and logically had returned. This fact made the boys words harder to believe. Nevertheless, the girl had been shot several times. He had seen it with his own eyes. How was he to explain the fact that her back showed no signs of injury?

Jonathan knew of the vampire myths. He grew up in New Orleans, a city known for its rich history of the occult and all things supernatural. As he had grown older and less religious, his belief in such things faded. Jonathan was a realist, an individual who believed in what could be explained by modern science. Abby, by definition, defied all of the assumptions that created the universe in which he lived. How could he explain her?

Despite all reason and logic, it was undeniable that the young girl, no older than twelve or thirteen, had been shot several times at nearly point-blank range and managed to "walk it off." On top of this, she appeared to have absolutely NO wounds on her back. She then proceeded to, with her bare hands, decimate the band of thugs that had attacked him. How could any ordinary child, no, how could any ordinary HUMAN do that?

"Where are we going to go?" Owen asked.

"I don't know, Owen. We could go to my parent's house. They still live in New Orleans."

"No!" Owen snapped.

"I'm sure they wouldn't recognize you."

A look of bewilderment quickly formed on Owen's face.

"What do you mean?" Owen asked.

"Well, I assume you two are runaways. Why are you running, anyway?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." Owen turned away from Jonathan and fixed his eyes on the road.

"Okay," Jonathan spoke, "but we need to stay somewhere, Owen. I know my parents wouldn't say anything about you if I asked them not to."

Owen said nothing, his mouth hung open as his eyes battled fiercely to avoid closing. Exhaustion began to creep up on the boy.

"Then its settled. To my parents house, we'll go." After all, silence implied consent, didn't it?

Owen did not have the strength to argue further. His eyes closed as he slumped back into the seat, his mouth wide open. Exhaustion had won.

* * *

Owen stretched out along the comfortable mattress, his eyes slowly opening as his awareness of the surroundings slowly returned. He found himself in a small bedroom lit only by the pale moonlight that entered a circular window on the wall behind his bed. He noticed Abby's trunk sitting open on the floor beside his resting place. He was alone.

Leaning over the side of the bed, Owen let his legs dangle for a moment as he fully awoke from his nap. He must have been exhausted having slept through the day into the night. He noticed his shoes had been removed and placed at the foot of the bed. After putting his shoes back onto his feet, he stood and stretched one final time before allowing curiosity to get the best of him. Although he was nervous in his new surroundings, the empty trunk beside his bed offered him reassurance.

Owen exited the small door leading to a landing at the top of a spiral staircase. Below him on the ground floor he could see a decently sized sitting room, a red sofa with a large end chair sitting around a cabinet style television. He could hear a conversation being held on the floor beneath him. He paused to listen for a moment, stopping only once he could hear Abby's unmistakeable voice. He descended the staircase, faster than he had originally intended and found himself across from a kitchen that was much larger than the one at his apartment.

In the kitchen was a large table supported by four brass-colored legs. Owen could see Abby sitting on a chair at the head of the table. To her left he could see two older people, a man and a woman. Sitting directly across from the man was their new friend Jonathan. As Owen moved closer towards the kitchen, various wondrous aromas of flooded his senses and he was quickly reminded of how hungry he was. His stomach growled audibly.

Abby turned around as Owen moved into the kitchen. She offered a small, reassuring yet bashful smile at Owen.

"You're awake," Abby exclaimed, her reassuring smile transforming into a beaming smile.

"Where are," Owen began, his stomach yet again growling audibly, "we?"

Jonathan stood up from his seat and walked over towards the arch separating the kitchen from the adjoining room.

"Hello Owen. This is my mom and dad's home."

A woman who appeared to be in her 60's stood from the table and also made her way slowly towards the arch. She smiled warmly at Owen.

"Hello Owen," she began, "did you sleep well?"

Owen nodded his head.

"You must be very hungry, please come and join us. I'll fix you a plate."

Looking at the table before him, Owen could see each of the people (including Abby) had plates of food set down in front of them piled high with various foodstuffs including mashed potatoes and gravy, cornbread, and pot roast. Owen looked towards Abby's plate and noticed that she had indeed indulged in a bite or two of the food placed in front of her. He was confused.

"Owen," Abby said, "can you help me finish all of this food? I don't like to waste, and I'm just not feeling that hungry tonight."

"Okay," Owen responded timidly as he stepped closer to Abby.

The older lady's expression suddenly changed, a look of concern forming on her face. "Are you sure, dear? There's plenty to go around, and a young lady like you needs to eat to maintain her strength."

Abby turned towards the lady and smiled.

"Yes, thank you. It must have been the ride," she responded.

The man sitting at the table remained quiet, his expression sour. He glared in Jonathan's direction. Jonathan moved back towards his seat and pushed a chair closer to Abby for Owen. As Owen began to take a seat, he barely managed to avoid falling backwards onto the floor having slipped on a small piece of chewed meat on the floor. After sitting down, he began to eat ravenously from Abby's plate, looking up only for a moment when he was spoken to.

"Owen," the lady began, "I'm Mrs. Marie. This is Mr. Ray."

Owen looked up from the plate of food that was quickly approaching empty.

"Nice to meet you. Thank you for the food."

The old man finally spoke, "Nice to meet you too, Owen." He turned again towards his son Jonathan, a seemingly perpetual scowl filling out his facial features.

"Abby, Owen," Jonathan began, "I'm going to say hello to an old friend of mine. She's a musical student at the university," he raised a small piece of paper up and waved it around, "and she's participating in a concert there this evening. I know you just woke up, Owen, and that we just arrived here, but would you two like to come with me?"

Abby blinked a moment as if coming out of a daze and turned towards Owen, her expression one of discomfort at the idea.

Realizing Abby's discomfort, Jonathan quickly interjected, "Don't worry, nobody knows you here."

Marie turned towards Abby and offered a soft, reassuring smile.

"Jonathan tells me you two have been through a lot. Perhaps some light entertainment is just what you need, dear."

Abby was not convinced, but Owen's facial expression made gave away his excitement. Truth be told, the thought of going out with Abby made him feel almost normal. While he was sure that his life would never again be the same, this opportunity gave him a chance to feel somewhat normal. After leaving behind his family, he longed for a sense of normality. He wanted to go to this concert.

"Okay," he blurted out, showing much more clearly than he intended just how excited he was.

Abby's expression slowly became more normal. A small smile began to form on her lips as she saw the excitement form on Owen's face.

"Okay," she timidly responded, "I guess that'll be cool."

"Now the music is likely to be like Beethoven and Motzart," Jonathan warned, "not rock or anything like that."

Abby's smile grew larger.

* * *

The trio sat in silence in the vehicle as Jonathan pulled out onto the street. After a moment, he turned and looked into the rear view mirror to find the children sitting close together.

"My dad was not happy," Jonathan sighed.

"Why not? He wasn't happy to see you?" Owen responded inquisitively.

Jonathan glanced back into the rear view mirror at the children, "I guess I didn't leave here on the best of terms. Then there's the question of you two."

"What did you tell them about us," Abby asked, catching his gaze in the reflection of the mirror.

"Well," he paused uncomfortably for a moment, "I told them that you two are runaways escaping an abusive family."

The two children sat in silence for a moment.

Turning to gaze out of the window, she watched the surroundings blur around them as she softly spoke, "What did they say?"

"Well, my mom is thrilled to have children in the house again," he paused momentarily, "but my father is very angry that," he began to mimic the voice of someone else,"I would pick up runaways. Especially children," the mimicry stopped, "He's worried that the police will come looking for you and it will drag him and mom into whatever," he again began to mimic his father, "mess I got myself into this time."

"What about the car?" Owen asked.

Jonathan again glanced up into the rear view mirror in Owen's direction in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Abby idly perched her hand beneath her chin as she continued to observe the path they had been traveling.

"He means this car," she began, "you took it from the men who tried to kill you."

Jonathan blinked and turned his attention back to the road and sighed deeply.

"Shit. I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me."

Owen responded timidly, "Welcome."

"I have to ditch it somewhere. With any luck, no one will know it even exists. And actually," he paused uncomfortably for a moment, "no one was left alive."

"Someone will know. Someone always knows. You have to get rid of it," Abby sagely responded.

"You're right. It's not worth taking the risk," Jonathan agreed.

Owen reached out and took Abby's hand in his. He gave it a gentle squeeze as he turned his head towards the window she was gazing out of.

"What's your friend's name again," Owen absently asked.

"April," Jonathan responded, "it's been a long time. I don't know how happy she'll be to see me."

"Why?" Owen asked as he turned his head back towards the front of the car.

"Well, I kind of left here in a hurry," Jonathan fumbled for his words, "I wasn't planning on leaving so quickly, but some stuff happened and I had to leave. We haven't spoken since."

Abby's eyes remained fixed on the view outside of the car. Although she remained quiet, a smirk had overtaken her previously angelic features.

"Oh."

Several minutes later, the car came to a halt.

"We're here," Jonathan began, "for better or worse."

Jonathan paused for a moment and shut his eyes, lost in thought. After resolving himself to some fact, he opened the car door and exited.

"I'm not sure which building it's in," Jonathan looked around for a moment before spotting a decently sized crowd congregating in front of one of the larger buildings not far from the parking lot, "That must be it." he pointed.

The children followed closely behind him as they made their way along the paved walkway towards the building. Slowly, the crowd of people who had been standing in front of the doors began to file inside via the large glass doors. Jonathan stopped as they passed a small blue sign which had been hammered into the ground. The sign was adorned with the hand-drawn picture of a man seated at a grand piano and the words, "Concert Tonight!"

As they approached the building, Jonathan pulled the large glass door open for the children and followed them inside into a small corridor. The interior of the building seemed was very large from the outside, but from the corridor, it seemed tiny. The walk space was small, leveraging the majority of the building space to the rooms within. There were many doors scattered along the walls. Large poster boards decorated only by a large red arrow and the word "CONCERT" were strategically affixed to the walls directing patrons down the corridor to the left. The trio followed the signs up to a large wooden door at the end of the hallway.

Jonathan nervously sighed as he stopped directly before the door to the concert hall, his eyes taking in the small sign on the right: "QUIET PLEASE. CONCERT IN PROGRESS." Reaching his hand out towards the sign, he ran his fingertips down along the smaller text stopping on a line which read: "MS. APRIL SAMPRESON, C. SKAFFS, PUELLA AETERNA." He turned around to, as expected, find the two children following close behind him.

"Okay. This is where April is playing tonight. She'll be playing," his voice trailed off as he turned back towards the sign, "Uhm. I'm not sure how you would pronounce it."

Abby and Owen turned their gaze towards the sign almost in unison. Owen shrugged his shoulders before turning to Abby, half expecting her to once again amaze him by pronouncing the foreign words in their native accents, perfectly. Most unexpectedly, he was not met with the prodigal playfulness of her words, yet by a blank stare. Her eyes, two dark and endless fissures were beginning to fill with emotion *.

Owen gently reached down and took her hand into his offering a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Leaning in close to her, he whispered, "Abby?"

Jonathan squinted at the children, confused by the scene being played out before him. He turned his eyes to the girl, watching her intently as he wondered what was going on.

"Abby," Owen once again asked, "You okay?"

Abby reached up to the sign and gently ran her pale fingertips along the words PUELLA AETERNA as if she were blind and reading a sign written in braille. Her lips curled up into an ever-so-slight smile as she responded, "I'm okay."

Jonathan was lost, still unsure of what was happening. Turning his head in Owen's direction, he nodded, completely unaware of what was going on, but attempting to pretend he retained some amount of control over the situation. After several seconds, he asked, "Are you guys ready?" as he opened the large wooden doors, remaining on the outside to allow the children to pass before him into the concert hall.

The hall was much larger than Owen had expected. Slipping inside directly before Abby, he paused a moment to take it all in. The floor sloped downwards before him allowing access to many rows of benches reminiscent of church pews. The room, dimly lit by ambient lighting strategically placed along its length, was longer than it was wide with walls adorned by massive red curtains. At the end of the sloped walkway, Owen could see the raised stage that filled the entire length of the end of the room. Parts of the stage were brightly lit by spotlights concealed above by a large curtain that also spanned the length of the room. A large grand piano was positioned on the front right portion of the stage.

On the left of the stage was a sign adorned with a man sitting atop a horse against a backdrop of a large cathedral. The words, "The University of New Orleans welcomes you" were also visible, written in an elegant script beneath the image.

Abby slipped into the large hall, her eyes still cast downward towards the floor as if trying to find some dropped article. Jonathan also moved in following closely behind Abby. After several moments, he ushered the kids into the bench seating closest to the door.

Sitting down first on the bench, Abby stared directly forward in the direction of the platform directly in front of them, her attention fixed on something unknown. Owen sat down beside her followed by Jonathan on his left.

The three sat in silence for what seemed almost an eternity as several performers seemed to enthrall the entire hall with the exception of Abby. After about an hour and a half, more than half of the patrons had left the concert hall leaving only the trio and a hand-full of other families.

As one of the performances drew to a close, the dwindled crowd once again broke into an audible round of applause. Just as the clapping began to cease, a man began to walk slowly from a small door at the back of the stage. With each step taken, the man clutched his cane tightly, steadying his movements towards the front of the stage. After several painstaking steps, the man's movements come to a stop in the front, center of the stage.

The man reached up to cover his mouth with a small, white handkerchief as he coughed deeply into it. He gazed around at the dwindled crowd, his features curled into a wistful expression as he addressed the patrons, "Ladies and Gentlemen. I'd like to once again welcome you to the University of New Orleans Department of Musical Education. To close out our fine," he paused a moment and once again raised his handkerchief to his mouth and coughed several times into it, "Pardon me. To bring our concert to a close, I'd like to welcome my student and dear friend Ms. April Sampreson to the stage. Please give her a round of applause."

A young woman rose from the audience several rows ahead of them and slowly began to make her way down the sloped floor, basking in the meager applause of the remaining patrons. As she approached the stage, she climbed up a small set of steps and seated herself at the grand piano, staring intently at the keys in front her, her hands clasped tightly in her lap.

The man, still standing at the front of the stage began to spoke again, "April came into our program three years ago, and I've been mentoring her since day one," he turned his head in her general direction, offering a warm smile, "She's quite a talented musician as you will soon see. For your enjoyment, she will be performing a rare piece indeed! Charles Skaffs was a composer shrouded in mystery. Unfortunately for both him and us, not many of his pieces were ever written down or taught. Ms. Sampreson has made it her senior thesis to study both the life and music of Mr. Skaffs. Tonight, you're in for a real treat. This is one of Mr. Skaffs earliest and most rare pieces, pieced together from the little we do know of it. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Ms. April Sampreson's interpretation of Puella Aeterna." The man once again clapped his hands together sending the entire (small) remaining audience into applause.

After several moments, the young woman at the piano began to lift her fingers to the keys and began playing.

* * *

* - I picture Abby's expression to be the same as when she first reaches Thomas' window at the hospital before she asks if she can come in.


	6. Chapter Five, Part One: Puella Aeterna

_Who is Eli?_ is a story that is set directly following the _Let Me In_ film. Owen casually finds one of Abby's puzzles and notices the name "Eli" etched upon it. Abby decides the time is right to reveal more of her mysterious past.

Chapter 5 part one gives us a bit more information about the history between Jonathan and April while also continuing to introduce more about Abby's troubled past. What is Puella Aeterna? Why does it's very mention have such a profound effect on Abby? Chapter 5 Part Two will explain more of this.

I also wanted to take a moment to apologize for taking so long to get this next update out. I intended to publish all of chapter 5 at one time, but life continues to get in the way. Between a full-time job and graduate school, my free time is severely limited. Don't worry though, I fully intend on bringing this story to ultimate closure in due time. Chapter 5 part two is very close to being finished, but I felt it was very important to publish the remaining portions together as they continue to show more about Abby's past.

As usual, thanks to everyone for continuing to read! And a special thanks to TorontoBatFan for his input and catching of a clothing-related oversight. More on this later!

* * *

Abby's eyes were tightly shut as the last note slowly faded away into nothing leaving only silence. Although she expected the concert hall to be bathed in the richness of applause and other praises, the dwindling of the patrons in attendance had precluded that. Instead, she opened her eyes to the meager applause of a mere ten or twenty individuals, one of which being the old man who had introduced her. After several seconds, he made his way over to the young woman and engaged in an animated discussion, showering her with praises.

Jonathan turned towards his head in the direction of the kids and sighed deeply.

"This is going to be," he paused for a moment and swallowed hard, "uncomfortable. You two can wait here if you'd like."

Abby, who had begun to awaken from her trance, turned to face both Owen and Jonathan. A small teardrop had fallen from the base of her chin only to be soaked up into the fabric of her worn dress. Owen gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Abby? You okay?"

She nodded and continued to hold his hand.

* * *

"Okay, I'll be right back," Jonathan began as he slowly stood up from the seat. He cursed under his breath, "I should have brought flowers or something."

Slowly, Jonathan exited the bench and began to walk down the sloped floor towards the stage, excusing himself several times as he passed others who were attempting to leave. He stopped as he reached the front two rows and gazed onto the stage. Several of the other musicians from the night had returned there and began to engage each other in passionate conversation concerning their individual performances. Jonathan smiled and strained his ear to listen to the conversations which yielded the general consensus was that everyone was mostly happy with their performances. He pondered this fact in his mind, attempting to form an opinion either way.

_You're stalling John. Go talk to her._

After several moments, the young woman who had been the last to sit at the grand piano happened to glance out into the concert hall. After turning her head back to the other young lady standing to her left with whom she had been conversing, her gaze suddenly snapped back in Jonathan's direction, her jaw opening into a wide gawk. Jonathan could see April's friend had also turned to glance in his direction before inquiring if April was alright.

_Oh shit. This was a bad idea._

April stood in silence. Jonathan could see her cheeks beginning to turn bright red as her hands clenched tightly into fists that hung close to her sides. Those performers who remained on the stage also began turning their attention towards Jonathan.

_This could be really bad._

April sighed and turned back towards her friend and muttered, "It's alright."

The young woman beside April turned to face Jonathan's direction and offered a menacing glare before placing her hand on April's shoulder and offering a reassuring rub. "If you need me, I'll be right here."

April smiled and turned her eyes to meet her friend's face. "Thank you Kim."

Nervousness flooded his body in endless waves, and although he fought to internally reassure himself, he was keenly aware of the fact that his body language reflected this fact. He resolved himself to the inevitable verbal (and potentially physical) beating that would shortly befall him. Several moments later, April began to walk in his direction. As she descended the staircase, Jonathan could see that almost all of the remaining musicians were trying their best not to make their glances obvious. Unfortunately, they weren't very good at doing so, which didn't help Jonathan to feel any better.

"Hello April," Jonathan began, "It's good to se-"

Jonathan's words were drowned out as April slapped him roughly across his cheek. He reeled beneath the force of the blow as his cheek quickly colored and throbbed with pain.

_Perhaps I deserved that one._

"You've got some nerve coming back here, Jonathan," April said, glaring daggers in his direction. "What do you want?"

Jonathan slowly turned back to face her and sighed. _This is not going to be easy._

"April, I," he began, "I'm very sorry."

April remained silent.

"I'm sorry about the way things ended up when I left."

April nodded and responded, "You should be."

Jonathan nodded in agreement. "I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, some of which are very major ones."

April quickly interjected, "You just disappeared."

Jonathan nodded and continued, "I had reasons, April. I had to leave quickly."

April chuckled darkly at his words. "And what reasons were those?"

Jonathan cast his eyes down towards the ground and mumbled something.

"What was that? I didn't hear you."

"I said, I was involved in something that I wasn't very proud of."

"You're a coward, Jonathan. You left me all alone here without a word. You didn't even try to contact me. You didn't call, you didn't write. And now you show up back here expecting everything to be alright?"

"April, things happened the night I left," Jonathan began, "I had to leave quickly. I didn't even have time to say goodbye to mom and dad."

_How much do I tell her?_

_You tell her everything, Jonathan. You've known her since you were kids!_

_Yes, but what about all of these other people?_

"But I'm sure you called them later," her voice was obviously growing louder and more agitated, "or at least wrote something so they knew you were alive! I didn't get that, John! I was left wondering where you'd gone and why, ME JOHN," April began to roughly tap her finger to her chest, "I was the one that was left behind wondering if you were dead or alive."

"I'm sorry. I haven't seen or spoken to my parents since that night."

"Do you think that you can show up here and everything will magically pick up where it left off, Jonathan? Do you? Are you really that stupid?"

"No," his voice quivered slightly, "I've just been through some," he paused for a moment and glanced back into the rows of seats where the children were, "unbelievable shit the past few days that made me really appreciate life. I wanted to see you because you never know when the end will come."

"Don't spout that religious crap off to me, John. Did you find God while you were gone? Your mom must be very happy," she smirked.

"It's nothing like that, April."

"Then what's it like, John? Why the hell are you really here? You think you can show up to one of my concerts and think I'll take you back? Please."

"It doesn't have anything to do with that, April."

"I don-" April stopped mid-sentence after hearing one of her friends say "Aww. How cute."

April turned quickly back in the direction of the stage as the first chord was struck. The sweet, richness of the melody once again flooded the concert. She was momentarily awestruck at the sight before her eyes. The remaining musicians, who had dwindled in numbers even further since her conversation with Jonathan had begun, had crowded around a young girl who had sat down at the grand piano and began to play. It was her piece: Puella Aeterna.

The child's eyes remained closed as she played and her fingertips danced along the keys with deadly precision. Her interpretation of the piece was not much different from the previous version which left April was awestruck. The variations were subtle, but enough for April and her instructor to take notice of (and wonder about). April and her professor gasped in unison as Abby drew the moving piece to a close. Although the previous portions of the song had been almost identical to April's, Abby's ending was very different. As the last sweet note faded into nothingness, Abby sat in silence, her head slightly bowed. A small teardrop dropped from her cheek and was quickly absorbed into the faded fabric of her dress.

April's hand instinctively moved to cover her mouth as she stood there in awe, her eyes fixed on the small child sitting at the grand piano before her. April continued to take in the sight, looking the child over from head to feet. She paused for a moment in realization …

The child was not wearing any shoes…


End file.
